Raina, Jadeja, Ojha managed by firm owned by Dhoni

According to documents filed by the firm with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Dhoni held 30,000 shares or 15% stake in Rithi Sports as on March 22.

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: A day after BCCI president N Srinivasan had to step aside because of a conflict of interest, Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni faced a similar charge for holding shares in Rhiti Sports Management Pvt Ltd, a firm that manages three Indian national players—Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Pragyan Ojha—besides Dhoni himself.

According to documents filed by the firm with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Dhoni held 30,000 shares or 15% stake in Rithi Sports as on March 22. This would indicate an obvious conflict of interest since he has a role in picking the Indian team and the firm would benefit if its clients were to be part of the team.

A sports management firm essentially gets its income from commissions on a player's commercial deals like endorsements, event appearances and so on. Clearly, a Team India player demands higher fees for all of these than somebody who is a domestic player. Rhiti Sports also managed the marketing of Chennai Super Kings of which Dhoni is captain, as well as badminton ace Saina Nehwal.

He had signed up with Rhiti Sports for three years, reportedly for Rs 210 crore in 2010, which translates to an average of Rs 70 crore a year, the costliest deal ever in Indian cricket.

Rhiti Sports sought to refute the allegation on Monday by suggesting that Dhoni is not a shareholder and had only been one for a month in March-April this year. A statement issued by Arun Pandey, the main promoter and a childhood friend of Dhoni, said: "MSD holds no shareholding in Rhiti Sports Management (P) Ltd. It is made clear that shareholding was allotted to MSD on 22.03.2013 only to secure certain old outstandings which were due for more than one year. Further, the payments were cleared in April 2013 and the shareholding was transferred back to promoter of the company on 26.04.2013."

In short, Rhiti Sports' claim is that shares were allotted to Dhoni to raise money for about a month to repay dues and the shares were subsequently bought by either Pandey or one of the other promoters. While pledging shares as collateral for loans is a common practice, their ownership doesn't change.

Former India batsman VVS Laxman said Dhoni should sell off his shares as it could drive him into a "compromising situation." He said: "When such a problem arises, the stakeholder should come out by selling off his shares. I think that can solve all the problems at one go. I am not sure if Dhoni has any share in Rhiti Sports, but if it true, he should sell off shares as it can put him in a compromising situation."

Documents available on the website of the ministry of corporate affairs show that Dhoni was allotted 30,000 shares on March 22 this year for a total price of Rs 3 lakh including share premium. Arun Pandey was also allotted 1.2 lakh shares on the same date for Rs 12 lakh. There were no documents on the website showing the transfer back of Dhoni's shares to Rithi or anybody else.

An experienced chartered accountant told TOI that what Rhiti Sports was suggesting was an extremely unusual business practice. "Companies do not normally allot shares to raise money for such a short period, particularly if they have crores in reserves, as this company appears to have," he said. He added, "If the shares were being allotted to raise money, why were they allotted to an 'outsider'—as the firm claims Dhoni was—at face value? The promoter could be allotted shares at face value, but when an outsider in buying shares in a privately held firm, the question of valuation of those shares is bound to arise." The CA pointed out that in such a situation even the income tax department would normally raise a question about undervaluation of the shares.

On paper, the company has for most of this period had only three shareholders—Pandey, his sister Pratima Tiwary and one Arun Kumar Dass. At the time when the company was set up, Pandey's sister held 1,000 shares of the 10,000 issued, Dass held just one share and the remaining nearly 90% was held by Pandey.

As of September 29, 2012, when the last AGM of the company was held, Pandey held 47,499 of the 50,000 equity shares in the company (about 95%), his sister Pratima held 1,250 shares (2.5%) and a relative Subhawati the remaining 1,251 shares (2.5%). Dass, one of the original promoters, was no longer a shareholder.

This also means that the 1.5 lakh shares allotted in March this year to Dhoni and Pandey would have quadrupled the company's equity base, as already pointed out in the seemingly strange way of tiding over what is claimed to be a temporary cash crunch.

Interestingly, two other firms floated by the Pandey family in 2006—Rhiti Studio Pvt Ltd and Rhiti Production Pvt Ltd—have languished, with no activity worth mentioning. Another firm, Inspired Entertainment, was floated by the same promoters in 2011 to manage corporate events, including fashion shows.

Atul Srivastava, the founder of Gaames Unlimited, that manages R Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane, said that Dhoni wouldn't push for an inferior talent. "It's just not possible. There's just too much scrutiny and I'm very clear in my mind that Dhoni wouldn't back a lesser talent," Srivastava said.

Interestingly, Rahane had spent 18 months in the squad before getting to play in a Test match against Australia even as the likes of Raina and Jadeja were preferred over him. Or, for instance, Manoj Tiwary who was forced to warm the benches for more than 20 One-Day Internationals after scoring a hundred against West Indies. Srivastava, however, denies that. "What you are saying sounds logical. I can't comment on Tiwary's non-inclusion. But the fact is that Rahane hasn't taken the chances that have come his way."

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Dhoni-Rhiti deal, a curse for fringe players

Chennai Super Kings' Skipper MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina during an IPL encounter.

MUMBAI: It has been an open secret for ever. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni maintained a strategic distance but his association with Arun Pandey, the face if not brain behind Rhiti Sports, was well known in top cricket circles.

In 2010, he turned it into a business partnership by signing up with Pandey to market him for a whopping Rs 210 crore-deal over three years. It now transpires that the relationship went much deeper: Dhoni owns a 15 per cent stake in the firm, even if it was only for a brief while, as they are so feebly claiming.

Not surprisingly, Indian cricket has responded angrily, with players and officials crying foul. The company, incidentally, also manages Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh (who denied being part of Rhiti at the moment), four players who have been almost regular fixtures in all three formats of the game for Team India.

More than that, the preferential treatment that Raina and Jadeja have enjoyed under his dispensation at Chennai Super Kings has always seemed strange. Jadeja, in fact, was acquired for an incredible annual fee of $2 million. One can imagine the killing Rhiti made when the deal was stuck.

TOI spoke to a cross-section of players and BCCI officials and almost all of them conceded that the skipper of the Indian team holding shares in an agency that manages players in his team itself was not an ideal situation. "It should not be allowed because the captain does influence the selection of as team; in fact, overseas, he and the coach have the sole authority on team selection. Now, I can only think of all the instances that looked like 'wrong' selections in recent times," former Board secretary Jayawant Lele said.

"It is better that the BCCI deals with the issue quickly before it gets any bigger," said former India off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna.
Dhoni has shown a preference for certain players in the team, and this revelation has only added fuel to the fire, with many connecting the dots. According to his critics, many talented players have been dumped during his reign without a fair opportunity. Dig deeper into first class cricket and you can cull out those names: batsmen Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, all-rounder Abhishek Nayar, seamer Dhawal Kulkarni, leg-spinner Amit Mishra, wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, to start with.

"With him, it's a question of like and dislike. If you are disliked by him, good luck to you! You can keep performing in domestic cricket, it doesn't matter" said a player.

Dhoni and N Srinivasan aren't alone in the 'sea of conflict of interest in Indian cricket' though. A Board member pointed out: "Anil Kumble heads the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and runs a player management agency (Tenvic). When Dilip Vengsarkar & Co selected Virat Kohli ahead of S Badrinath in the Indian team, Srinivasan was miffed, and got the then Board president, Sharad Pawar, to remove that selection committee on the pretext that those who were office-bearers in the state associations could not be selectors at the same time. Now, the same Board has allowed Roger Binny, who is the vice-president of KSCA, to be a selector. Ratnakar Shetty, till last year, was a vice-president with the Mumbai Cricket association (MCA), while being the CAO of the Board. I can cite ten instances in Indian cricket where there is a conflict of interest. All this works according to people's convenience," he says.

A few voices, though, defended Dhoni's association. "I don't see any conflict of interest here. Unless it is proved that he has been influencing the players to join the company or is pushing the said players' inclusion in the Indian team, it is not proper to make such allegations. He may have a stake in the company but that doesn't mean he is guilty of foul-play. Can't a player invest his money in a business?" questions former India left-arm spinner Venkatapathi Raju. "Dhoni can have stakes in a company and that should not be looked in a different way. Dhoni is a captain and knows what to do. We are unnecessarily making an issue out of it," says Rajasthan batsman Robin Bisht.

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The entire history of Windows in one video

Watch the entire string of upgrades from Windows 1.0 to Windows 8, as well as some gameplay from Reversi and Doom, in just over an hour.

Oh, misty Doom-colored memories...

Windows has come a long way over the decades from the now antiquated-looking boxes of Windows 1.0 to the layers upon layers of desktops, start screens, charms, tiles, and whatever that bar on the left is in Windows 8.

Now, you can spend a little over an hour watching the entire evolution of Windows unfold in the video below. For some reason, someone spent what looks to be a few hours (the video seems to have been sped up) upgrading Windows using a virtual machine all the way from Windows 1.0 to the latest Windows 8 Pro. The result is an hour and seven minutes of pretty comprehensive history for the world's most famous graphical user interface (GUI). Along the way, we get treated to a few quick games of classic Reversi and Doom, which launch easily from the early versions of Windows. However, Doom has some real problems launching from a version of Windows 1.0 running within Windows 8. How deliciously uber-meta-nerdy...
Most hilarious: how quickly the earlier versions of Windows install, and how much of the video is basically waiting for Windows 8 to load. This is to be expected of course, but for someone with distant memories of fumbling for hours with the more than 15 floppies needed to install Windows 95, it's satisfying -- and a little maddening -- to see the process fly by.

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Dear Apple, is wearing a watch really natural?

Apple's Tim Cook suggested this week that wearing something on one's wrist is natural. But why, then, has Apple spent the last few years making it unnatural?

Well, one of them is wearing a watch.

Most of us spend our lives sliding on a scale between impossible and gullible.
We're sometimes persuaded so easily, yet, at others, even the most accepted pieces of information can't penetrate our obstinacy.
No, I'm not thinking about global warming, Sharon Stone, or the New York Yankees. I'm musing on this supposed iWatch that Apple may or may not ever create, produce, market or give away as a free gift at Christmas with the purchase of two pink iPhones.
In his epically stoic performance at D11, Apple CEO Tim Cook offered that while Google Glass was "risky" (translation: You look as if the asylum wouldn't take you), wearing something on one's wrist is "natural."
Well, it might be natural for some girls who like to alert you they're on the way to your restaurant table by wearing 16 noisy bangles.
It might also be natural for men who work in money to wear a bulbous lump of Swiss gold on their wrists in order to inform those several hundred yards away that they work in money.
It might even have been natural for those who once believed that Lance Armstrong was the second coming of a Texas Jesus to wear those sweet little yellow bands that told them to Live Wrong. (I think that's what the words on them said.)
But Apple has spent the last few years freeing our wrists from burden.
Slow though we are, once we realized that we didn't need to turn our wrists to tell the time, we discovered that we didn't need watches at all. We had cell phones.
Suddenly, no sweaty wrists, no watches left behind at Mrs. Kasiwag's Late Night Emporium, no pinching sensation when the buckle gets caught in your wrist-hairs. No scratching your lover during impromptu romantic enthusiasm.
Now, when we want to know the time we look at our phones -- which is something we do 376 times a day anyway.
You may be one of those who is slowly returning to wrist-wearing with, say, a Jawbone Up, in order to track every single moment of your waking and sleeping hours.
However, try using a laptop while wearing one and you may discover an annoying banging against your keyboard.
If it is "natural" to put anything at all on your wrists, the purpose is surely beautification rather than edification.

It's certainly true that one of Apple's great strengths lies in beautification. The company can take a thing that's supposed to be useful and make it really rather attractive too. It's the gadget equivalent of the perfect life-partner.
So if this purported iWatch is to somehow appear and appeal to one's wrist, it will have to be even prettier than an iPhone.
It will have to have a novel purpose and an engaging look. What might that novel purpose be?
It won't be enough that it will be some mini phone-substitute, there to scroll the sports scores with a delicate finger, so that you don't have to reach for your phone (Which is never difficult, because you always put it on the bar or restaurant table, don't you?).
Are you going to want to turn your wrist to, say, take a picture?
Are you really going to want to talk into your watch? Won't you look even more potty than a Google Glass-wearer, who, at least, might look as if he's merely talking to himself. (Most of us do that on occasion, don't we?)
Sometimes it seems as if wearable tech is the next big thing because those who make gadgets want everyone to believe it's the next big thing. Perhaps it's the Emperor's New Big Thing.
Unless it looks (very) different and does something (quite) different, will there truly be hordes ready to prettify their wrists?
Of course, thinking different has always been Apple's natural claim. But it's one thing having something up your sleeve and another to want to show off what's beneath it.
Wearable tech has to involve a certain amount of showing off. That's the nature of fashion. We wear things -- as often as not -- so that others can be impressed.
If, as Cook suggested at D11, Apple is preparing "game-changers," will a watch be one of them? Or might this be a natural area for one of Apple's little "surprises."

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Today`s Quotes

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”

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Employers using social media for internal communications

Employers are now utilising a host of social media tools such as instant messaging and social networks to communicate with their employees, a new study has found.

The research, which was based on surveys of 290 organisations from across North America, Europe and Asia, found that more than half of the employers surveyed currently use various social media tools as part of their internal communication initiatives as a way to build community.
Among the companies surveyed, instant messaging, used by 77 per cent, and streaming audio and video, used by 61 per cent, were the most popular social media tools, ‘BusinessNewsDaily’ reported.
Other tools being widely used include human resources or employee blogs, enhanced online employee profiles, social networks, SMS messaging and mobile apps, according to the study by global professional services company Towers Watson.
“We believe that social media can be a great tool for communicating with employees in the workplace,” said Kathryn Yates, global leader of communication consulting at Towers Watson.
“By its nature, social media is designed to build community and could help engage employees on key topics such as performance, collaboration, culture and values,” Yates said.
Despite the increased adoption, reviews regarding each tool’s effectiveness have been less than overwhelming. The study found that for each social media tool, less than half of those using it find it to be effective.
Also, only 40 per cent rated the use of social media technology as cost-effective.
However, researchers believe the importance of social media tools will only grow as businesses become more dependent on remote workers.
Currently, just 23 per cent of those surveyed said their company is effective at building community among its remote workers.

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People most likely to face discrimination at work

People most likely to face discrimination at work: Study

A new Australian study on racism has found that people were most likely to face discrimination at work while over 50 per cent such cases go unreported.

A survey by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission conducted on 227 people found that 15 per cent had encountered racism on public transport and 31 per cent had seen it on the street, according to ABC news report.
It said 55 per cent of racist incidents were unreported. The study, ‘Reporting Racism: What you say matters’, found that almost one in three of people surveyed had witnessed or experienced racism at work and three out of 10 witnessed it in public.
Verbal abuse emerged as the most common form of racism and people were twice as likely to be abused walking down the street than on public transport.
“It does have a profound impact on people and really it is about the rest of us being conscious about what we say, because what we say does have an impact on people,” said Karen Toohey, the state’s Equal Opportunity Acting Commissioner.
It also found that most of people did not report such incidents. “Generally people think you’re being oversensitive and there’s no formal process that will yield any formal results,” the report quoted a respondent as saying.
Another participant, who worked in a small private hospital, said: “There have been several occasions when older patients, both male and female have stated very clearly that they don’t want to be looked after by… foreign or dark-skinned people.”
Toohey attributed this to concern that nothing would be done, and the frequency of abuse.
In a bid to combat racism, there is a report which one who witnessed racism can fill out on the commission’s anti-hate website which will be passed on to the police.

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Middle-East, North Africa & US emerging job hubs for fresh commerce graduates

TimeJobs.com study reveals that the American continent has 43% share in international jobs for B.Com graduates

B.Com graduates with less than 2 years of experience have lucrative international job options available; reveals a study conducted by TimesJobs.com. The study highlighted that B.Com graduates with less than 2 years of experience are most in-demand with 58% share of jobs postings for international positions.
The data also revealed that the American continent alone has 43% share in international jobs for B.Com graduates, followed by Asia 19%. Countries such as USA, Middle East and North Africa have maximum number of job postings for B.Com graduates. And, together they have a 3/4^th share of jobs amongst top 10 locations for B.Com graduates.
Sunil Goel, Director of Global Hunt, a recruitment service company attribute this trend to the fact that B.Com graduates have an advantage of knowing finance, accounting, supply chain and logistics. So, they can actually do a range of jobs which includes general data entry, analytics and number crunching.
According to Radhakrishnan Nair, Head-Human Resource, Federal Bank, a subject like B.Com in the newer colleges in Indian Universities is taught to prepare the students for becoming successful entrepreneurs. This makes them confident in taking on assignments that may need to learn skills that will challenge them.
What gives Indian B.Com graduates an edge over their international counterparts? “Most of Indian B.Com graduates are tech savvy and can easily combine their technical capabilities with the subject that they have to deal with,” replies Nair. Also, Indian students have a natural flair of being able to understand the culture of the country for which they are working, he added.
Commenting on the rising demand of B.Com graduates in Middle East, North Africa and US markets, Goel explains that in North Africa, there is a demand for commerce graduates in the commodities business. They need people who can handle warehousing, accounting and can take care of a large pool of consumer accounts.
“In the US market, commerce graduates are required to handle general ledger entry, bid preparation, invoicing and ARP process, which a qualified professional or a chartered accountant will not like to take up,” he adds.
“B.Com Graduates can easily fit into front office roles in Banks and NBFCs. With adequate training they may do well in Credit and Treasury. Having said this, it must also be stated, that there is an assumption in the quantitative/analytical capabilities of students pursuing B.Com,” says Nair.
The data also revealed that the top 5 industries which are hiring B.Com graduates, internationally, are BFSI, Construction/Cement/Steel, Educational/Training, IT/Telecom and Recruitment/Placement Agencies.
While there are many opportunities available for B.com graduates back-home, the international job market also looks promising for those who are eyeing greener pastures and some much needed global exposure.

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‘CXOs are equally entitled to have fun at work like other employees’

Udit Mittal, Founder & Managing Director, Unison International

How can a healthy and fun working atmosphere have an impact on one’s productivity?
A good nice harmonious environment will be less stressful and thus result in better performance of the employee. After long stressful hours of work fun exercises help rejuvenate the environment and the employee, thus helping them to concentrate on work in a productive manner. In many organisations few game activities are organised to break the ice between the employer and the employee, thus helping them to understand each other better. It is observed that fun activities have always benefitted the employer in terms of understanding its employee and their key competencies.
How can a leader create fun at work? 
Typically in every organisation the top management is more confined to the four walls of the board rooms and their participation in fun activities is therefore very restricted. Also, some employers see that a close association with employees can take a little unprofessional turn and therefore they try to maintain a distance. However, in our organisation we follow a fun filled approach from top down levels and encourage participation among all hierarchies of management. We also believe it is the employer or top management who has the potential to create fun at work.
Employees can never be forced to have fun at work. If they are content with their job, they will automatically have fun at work. Do you agree?
I truly agree employees cannot be forced to have fun, a good job will want people to go to office everyday and, office becomes a playground rather than a battle field. For this it is essential that the skill set of the employee is mapped with the kind of work he is doing which is possible if there is a healthy communication between the employee and the employer therefore team building meetings and fun activities are always encouraged.
As far as creating a fun atmosphere at work place is concerned, what is the general trend in organisations at present? 
With world turning into a global village more informal cultures prevail, employees cannot be forced to work, therefore, most organisations are making flat structures and dividing the curriculum into work and leisure. In many organisations separate fun clubs/employee refreshment centers have been created in order to make employee feel more comfortable at workplaces thus increasing the productivity at work.
Isn’t the top management equally entitled to have fun at work like other employees?
Yes they are equally entitled as part of the organisation because they are more stressed and responsible than their junior counterparts. And it also helps to understand each other’s work and responsibilities in a healthier manner
What can companies do to encourage senior management to join this ‘fun’ group?
Companies can evaluate senior management on their interpersonal skills, their ability to gel with their juniors and colleagues, make them part of fun teams and make them compete in terms of informal competition.
Is it true that employees don’t take their bosses seriously if the latter participates in fun activities along with them?
No I don’t agree with this because they know that this activity is only for a purpose and performance at work is the key parameter which will keep the relationship intact.

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Indian Software Industry to See Strong Revenue Growth: PwC

New Delhi : The Indian software industry is poised for a strong revenue growth driven by social media, mobility, analytics and cloud, said a report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The Indian companies in the top 100 emerging markets list bring combined revenue of $797 million. India ranks fifth among the emerging markets based on revenues, according to the PwC Global 100 Software Leaders report, a revenue-based study on the world's top 100 software vendors.

The recent report also contains indices of the top 100 software vendors in North America, Europe Middle East and Africa, and the emerging markets.

"The Indian IT industry has been primarily identified with software services and this focus has relegated the software products segment to the background. However, off late, we are seeing a change in the fortunes of this segment due to significant growth.

"Emerging technologies such as social media, mobility, analytics and cloud (SMAC) are driving the growth in this segment and helping it move to the next level," said Sanjay Dhawan, leader, technology, PwC India.

A number of software product firms have grown over the last decade from a little over 100 in the year 2000 to nearly 2,400 in 2013. According to the industry body NASSCOM, the revenue from the software product segment currently stands at $2.2 billion and is expected to reach $10 billion by 2020.
 

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Coffee can cut diabetes risk

Coffee can cut diabetes risk

Moderate coffee consumption - which equals to three to four cups of coffee per day- may help to prevent risk of type 2 diabetes, according to researchers.

The finding was highlighted in a session report published by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), a not-for-profit organisation devoted to the study and disclosure of science related to coffee and health.

Recent scientific evidence has consistently linked regular, moderate coffee consumption with a possible reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. An update of this research and key findings presented during a session at the 2012 World Congress on Prevention of Diabetes and Its Complications (WCPD) is summarised in the report.

The report outlines the epidemiological evidence linking coffee consumption to diabetes prevention, highlighting research that shows three to four cups of coffee per day is associated with an approximate 25 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to consuming none or less than two cups per day1. Another study also found an inverse dose dependent response effect with each additional cup of coffee reducing the relative risk by 7-8 per cent.

Whilst these epidemiological studies suggest an association between moderate coffee consumption and reduced risk of developing diabetes, they are unable to infer a causal effect. As such, clinical intervention trails are required to study the effect in a controlled setting. One prospective randomized controlled trial, tested glucose and insulin after an oral glucose tolerance test with 12g decaffeinated coffee, 1g chlorogenic acid, 500 mg trigonelline, or placebo. This study demonstrated that chlorogenic acid, and trigonelline reduced early glucose and insulin responses, and contribute to the putative beneficial effect of coffee.

The report noted that the association between coffee consumption a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes could be seen as counter intuitive, as drinking coffee is often linked to unhealthier habits, such as smoking and low levels of physical activity.

Furthermore, studies have illustrated that moderate coffee consumption is not associated with an increased risk of hypertension, stroke or coronary heart disease. Research with patients with CVD has also shown that moderate coffee consumption is inversely associated with risk of heart failure, with a J-shaped relationship.

Finally, the report puts forward some of the key mechanistic theories that underlie the possible relationship between coffee consumption and the reduced risk of diabetes.

These included the ''Energy Expenditure Hypothesis'', which suggests that the caffeine in coffee stimulates metabolism and increases energy expenditure and the ''Carbohydrate Metabolic Hypothesis'', whereby it is thought that coffee components play a key role by influencing the glucose balance within the body. There is also a subset of theories that suggest coffee contains components that may improve insulin sensitivity though mechanisms such as modulating inflammatory pathways, mediating the oxidative stress of cells, hormonal effects or by reducing iron stores.

Dr. Pilar Riobo Servan, Associate Chief of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Jimenez Diaz-Capio Hospital of Madrid and a speaker at the WCPD session concluded the report, commenting: "A dose-dependent inverse association between coffee drinking and total mortality has been demonstrated in general population and it persists among diabetics. Although more research on the effect of coffee in health is yet needed, current information suggests that coffee is not as bad as previously considered!"

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Today`s Quotes

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

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Lessons from My First Job: Partha Basu, Akzo

Partha Basu, CFO and Whole Time Director, Akzo Nobel India and the author of the book ‘Make It or Break It’ shares his journey of learning from unlearning
My First Job: I was a management trainee in IFB Industries Ltd.
My Experience: I was amongst the first few employees at IFB’s new venture to create washing machines. I was posted at a plant in Corlim, which is away from the main city of Panjim, Goa. My seniors did not restrict my job to the job description. I was given freedom given to go beyond the function and work with larger teams. I worked closely with manufacturing, stores, IT, planning, logistics, projects, which allowed me to learn operations at an early age. I was fortunate to have seniors who guided me at every step. I still remember the pride and joy I felt when we invoiced the first machine from the factory.
Things I learnt: Being away from home for the first time taught me a lot. My biggest learning was when I realised life is beyond the safe hands of parents. I learnt to manage myself as an individual, live on my own.
Skills I Acquired: Managing adversity, team work, importance of unlearning and relearning, managing transition, ability to accept mistakes, power of positive thinking.
My Manager’s teaching:  Late Mr. B Mukherjee was my manager and mentor. I was fresh from the college with no idea about the corporate world.  Being away from home and friends I was home sick. He treated me like his younger brother, who I could share my problems. His message to me was ‘if you work you will make mistakes. If you don’t, you will never. Hence never be ashamed to make mistakes.’
Turning Point in my Career: The turning point in my life came when I decided to leave my job at the Tata group and decided to leave my home town Kolkata to join a start-up joint venture between IFB and Autoliv. I was 27 years old and had a chance to manage an independent finance department reporting to the head of business. I was advised against this move by many as it was ‘risky’.  However, I am happy that I took that decision that day.
My most crucial step/assignment: It is difficult to single out one assignment. However the one that I can cite is of when I took over as General Manager-Commercial in Coke, I had very limited exposure to logistics & planning function. But, my zeal to learn and excel paid back since that assignment taught me how tough operational roles can be. Similarly, when I was driving the margin management for Asia in Whirlpool, after many months I realised that I was the only finance guy leading a large geography, the rest of the team comprised of marketing/sales folks. That assignment allowed me to learn about global business. Similarly when I was raising fund at SpiceJet, it was an immensely important assignment for me since at that point of time, the economic scenario was difficult and raising fund were not so easy. It too gave me a great exposure.
My Advice: There is life beyond the so called ‘success’; and the four walls of your office. One must explore it to understand and enjoy every day of his/her corporate journey.
Where I see myself 5 years from here: My dream is to mentor young India, especially the youth from tier 2 or 3 cities. This would also help me walk closer to my dream.

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Good companies show career progression to prospective employees

Chinmayi VS, Head- Human Resources, Maxim Integrated shares tips on selecting the ‘right’ organisation for a successful career

To ensure success in one’s career, it is very critical to select an employer who reflects and supports your values and career objectives. So, what’s the mantra to identify a good organisation?
“A good organisation showcases a clear company vision, technology/business roadmap, career progression through real-time data points and their culture to prospective employees. Culture is normally the differentiator. It is easy to copy technology, but not an organisation’s culture and employee testimonials would add value,” explained Chinmayi VS, Head- Human Resources, Maxim Integrated during a ‘High-Tea’ session, a dedicated chat platform on TimesJobs.com for candidates to ask career related queries to experts.
Advising fresh graduates on selecting the ‘right’ employer, Chinmayi said that it is important to join a company that nourishes fresh talent through specialised training programs and provides freshers a good transition into the corporate world. As for a fresher their first employer plays a big role in moulding them into a thorough professional. “Look for an employer who gives you a visibility into your career progression options starting with your year as a freshman.”
What should be the focus money or career growth? According to Chinmayi, both are important. Salary is a hygiene factor, if you feel there is a big gap in your salary that should be addressed first, without compromising on your career path. If you pursue excellence and competence, salary growth would most certainly follow.
Another question which was asked during the High-Tea session was is it better to work with big organisations or small organisation. Chinmayi says that big organisations normally offer very good exposure on systems, processes and learning resources. Whereas, small organisations offer roles with more ownership and normally includes a wider scope within the role. Irrespective of size, a job seeker needs to look at the company’s vision and financial stability while seeking employment.
In her view, if one is offered a full-time job in the organisation where the candidate is interning, they need to specifically clarify the role being offered and if it meets their requirement on salary and career growth.
All in all, you should work for an organisation that offers you a good role with learning and career progression opportunities, along with a good working culture.

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Vegetable juices better than whole veggies?

Vegetable juices better than whole veggies?

One is always confused about eating vegtables raw or in the form of a juice. And rightly so, juicing vegetables is a much harder task than juicing vegetables.
For one, we need to add a lot more flavour to vegetable juices to make them drinkable. But even if you are inclined toward drinking a tasteless vegetable juice for health reasons, how effective will it be? Well, we all have doubts, so let's figure out which one is better: Vegetable juice or whole vegetables.

Most health guidelines recommend that one must consume two to three cups of vegetables every day. This requirement may go up or down, based on your activity level and physical characteristics. Vegetable juices are seen as an easy way out of the monotonous vegetable cooking and chewing process through the day. A juice entails juicing a vegetable, therefore removing pulp and roughage.

Both eating your vegetables and juicing your vegetables will give you essential nutrients needed by the body to help fight disease. But juicing will give you more of those nutrients than just eating your vegetables. Intrigued? Here's why...

Digestion
Now solid food takes several hours to break down, decompose and provide nutrition, in case of juices, it's much easier and quick.

No fibre
Now juicing primarily gets rid of the fibre in the vegetable that is drained out and what you drink gets easily absorbed in the body. They get assimilated very easily with minimal effort, and the nourishment is available almost instantly to the whole array of cells in the body. The exertion on the part of the digestive system is also very fast.

But should you quit whole vegetables completely?
No! You can still munch on carrots and other vegetable side dishes during meals. Your body does need dietary fibre, which might not carry nutritional value but acts as a cleaner for the digestive tract and intestines.

A cup of unprocessed carrots contains roughly 7 grams of fiber. On the other hand, a cup of carrot juice is almost totally devoid of fiber.

Therefore, get that fiber from your meals, but make up for any vegetable shortfalls and extra requirements in the day with vegetable juices.

Nutritional vs bodily enzymes
Our body possesses countles cells and tissues that have their own enzymes requirements and production to perform a whole range of tasks. The ones that are made avaible from eating raw vegetables or juices work in conjunction with the already present ones. So one need not cut off raw vegetables completely. Striking the right balance is essential.

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Samsung Breaks own Record, Ships 10 Million Galaxy S4's In 1 Month

Bangalore: Samsung's flagship series Galaxy S4, has reportedly broken all the company sales record for the fastest selling series. It achieved this feat by shipping a whopping 10 million units of the Samsung Galaxy S4 in the first month.
The sales rate has easily striked of its previous records set by its earlier versions. Samsung Galaxy SIII shipped 10 million units too; however, it took twice the time of Galaxy S4. As for earlier series, Galaxy SII took close to 5 months to reach the milestone and the very first Samsung Galaxy S took much longer at 7 months.

Samsung's marketing technique by launching the phone simultaneously in multiple markets proved to be very successful. One more reason for rapid sales could be its advertising which made people aware of the product beforehand.

Even though Samsung Galaxy S4, faced a stiff competition from HTC One and Sony Xperia Z, it sold several times faster than its predecessor. However, Samsung’s rival Apple is all set to launch its next iPhone in few weeks from now, let’s see how well the Smarphone giant gears up.

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Twitter Introduces 'Two-Factor Authentication' To Control Hacking

Bangalore: After a spate of recent attacks on various prominent Twitter accounts including the ones of Associated Press and Financial Times, the social networking site has finally decided to give its users the option of enabling added security to the Twitter accounts. The company announced that it has finally introduced the two-factor authentication to protect the accounts from hackers, reports The Financial Post.

The feature asks users to confirm identity after a typical log-in, by entering a six-digit code sent to Smartphones. Each time a user attempts to log in to the Twitter account, the user should enter the code sent via text message to the number tied to the account, which makes it really hard for a  hacker to compromise an account without access to the user’s phone.

Repeated hacking incidents have led to questions about Twitter’s credibility and reliability and thus to regain its role in the changing media landscape, the microblogging service has introduced the 2FA-enabled security system.

The company hopes the move will reduce the chance of hacking profiles. In April, hackers gained access to the Twitter accounts of BBC, Financial Times, CBS, NPR and E! Online employees. Most notably, hackers broke into the Associated Press twitter account tweeting falsely that Presidnet Obama had been injured and that there had been two explosions at the White House which led to a lot of perplexity.

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TRAI recommendation on free roaming in 10-15 days

Telecom regulator TRAI has completed the consultation process on nation-wide free roaming and it will give its recommendations in the next 10-15 days."On national roaming, the consultation has been completed, the authority is in the process of formulating its final rules before it takes a decision in 10-15 days," TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar told PTI.
Industry sources said national roaming is proposed to be done through special tariff vouchers which is not exactly free, but it could bring roaming prices down as a first step.
National Telecom Policy, 2012 aims to abolish roaming charges and allow mobile phone subscribers to use the same number across the country without having to pay extra charges for services once they are outside their telecom circle.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had said that the government would try to start national free roaming for customers before October this year.
As per an Ernst and Young estimate, removing of roaming charges would cause annualised loss in the range of Rs.12,500 crore to Rs.15,000 crore to the telecom players.
In December last year, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had floated a pre-consultation paper seeking inputs from stakeholders on tariff for national roaming services.
At present, telecom operators have to pay various charges like termination charge, interconnect charges, for completing call of their customers on to other networks which get added to the final cost of the call for the customer when they are out of their circles.

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Bharti Infotel asked to pay Rs. 50,000 for making threatening calls to customer

Bharti Infotel has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay Rs. 50,000 as compensation to a customer for making threatening calls to pay Internet bills which were raised despite his request for disconnection of the service.The South West District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum observed that the act of the telecom major amounted to not only deficiency in service but also unfair trade practice and for that the customer needs to be reasonably compensated.
"In the instant case, issue pertains to deficiency in service on the part of opposite party (Bharti Infotel) as it did not entertain the request of complainant for disconnection of the DSL (Internet) services, continuously raised the bills for the same and also made threatening calls pressurising him to pay the bill.
"The action of opposite party amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practices... Complainant suffered inconvenience and harassment for which he is entitled to be reasonably compensated," a bench presided by Narendra Kumar said and directed Bharti Infotel to pay Rs. 50,000 to Delhi resident Ranjan Mohapatra.
The order was passed on a complaint made by Mohapatra, who had alleged that the telecom major did not entertain his request for disconnection of the DSL services that he had availed and even though he had stopped using it and settled the prior dues, they kept on raising fresh bills.
Bharti Infotel then started making threatening calls to him to pay the bills, he alleged, adding that he even filed a police complaint against the telecom company for the same. In its defence, Bharti Infotel contended that Mohapatra had not surrendered the DSL services, was using it and the same had been billed accordingly.
It also denied the allegation that threatening calls were made by its officials to Mohapatra, pressurising him to pay the bills.
The forum, however, rejected the contentions saying the defence taken by Bharti Infotel "cannot be believed".

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6 things Marissa Mayer has done to make Yahoo cool again

Yahoo Inc. lured Marissa Mayer from Google in July to become its fifth CEO in as many years. Her task: Help the Internet pioneer regain its stature after years in a financial funk. In her 10 months leading the company, she has overseen a redesign of Yahoo services and orchestrated several acquisitions, including a deal to buy online blogging forum Tumblr for $1.1 billion.

Here are some of the milestones on her watch:

1) Alibaba: In September, Yahoo completed a long-awaited, $7.6 billion deal for Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba to buy back half of Yahoo's 40 percent stake. Most of the proceeds will go to its shareholders, but Yahoo has an extra $1.3 billion to finance acquisitions or hire new talent. Some of that money is going to the Tumblr deal.

2) Mobile: Mayer has made mobile services one of her top priorities, as more people connect to the Internet on smartphones and tablet computers. During her tenure, Yahoo has created a new weather app for Apple's iPhone. It also has redesigned an email app for smartphones, as well as the app for its Flickr photo service on the iPhone and iPad. But in February, Mayer also said Yahoo will be better served with just 12 to 15 mobile applications, down from a "scattered" portfolio of as many as 75 different programs in recent years.

3) Web makeover: Yahoo unveiled a long-awaited redesign of its home page in February - the first in four years. The new approach is meant to get people to visit more frequently and linger for longer periods of time. Yahoo said it has developed more sophisticated formulas to determine which topics are most likely to appeal to different people so the news feed can be fine-tuned to cater to different tastes.

4) Personnel: Ross Levinsohn, who was in charge of Yahoo's media and advertising services and served as interim CEO before Mayer's hiring, left the company. Software industry veteran Ken Goldman was named chief financial officer to replace cost-cutting specialist Tim Morse, who was hired in 2009. Alfred Amoroso stepped down as board chairman in April and plans to leave next month, which will make him the eighth director to leave since early 2012.

5) Stock performance: Mayer's efforts at Yahoo have been well-received on Wall Street, although most of the 70 percent surge in Yahoo's stock price under Mayer's leadership has been driven by the rising value of Yahoo's remaining 24 percent in Alibaba. Unlike Yahoo, Alibaba's growth has been accelerating. That success has been steadily increasing Alibaba's estimated market value during the past year. Analysts believe Yahoo may be able to make another $10 billion to $20 billion, before taxes, when it sells the rest of its Alibaba holdings.

6) Acquisitions: Yahoo has bought several startups primarily to obtain more engineering talent to build help build better mobile applications. It also bought London startup Summly, which makes a mobile application created by a teenage entrepreneur who sought an easier way to read news stories and other content on the smaller screens of smartphones.

Now, it is buying Tumblr in the most expensive acquisition since the Sunnyvale, Calif., company bought online search engine Overture a decade ago for $1.3 billion in cash and stock. Yahoo is paying mostly cash and expects to complete the deal by the end of the year. Mayer is betting Tumblr will provide Yahoo with a captivating hook to reel in more traffic and advertisers on smartphones and tablet computers. More than half of Tumblr's users connect through the mobile app and engage in an average of seven visits per day.

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Google Translate says 'Hola!' to Chrome

The latest Chrome beta for Android integrates Google Translate support directly into the browser, just like it does with its desktop counterpart.

Google Translate lands in Chrome 28 beta for Android.

Not only is Google Translate not dead, its powers of mildly accurate, often-amusing, and on-the-fly translations are in the process of being gifted to Chrome 28 Beta for Android.
If you load a foreign language Web site in the beta, which landed in the Google Play Store on Thursday, a bar will appear at the bottom of the screen with a button to translate the site. Tap the button, and voila! It will appear in a different language.
The accuracy of the translation is another issue. However, Google spokeswoman Roya Soleimani said, "Google Translate works through statistical machine translation. We have 71 languages now, and while there will always be varying levels of accuracy, if you have a good translation, it's better than no translation."
She added, "The team is working on improvements all the time."
And adventurous beta testers can now check a new graph under "Settings, Bandwidth Management" of their data compression bandwidth savings, if they've enabled that feature.
Other changes in the Android Chrome beta include WebGL support as a flagged option and full-screen support for Android tablets, which recently debuted for phones. The full Chrome 28 beta changelog is here.

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Yahoo said to press play on Hulu bid

The media company is reportedly keeping things cool with another big bid -- this time for online video.

 

Yahoo has reportedly made a bid to buy online video service Hulu.

The veteran media company, just days after announcing a $1.1 billion takeover of Tumblr, submitted an offer Friday morning to snatch up the popular Web and mobile streaming app for TV and movie content, according to AllThingsD. Yahoo joins others such as Directv, Time Warner Cable, and The Chernin Group in making a play for Hulu, which is jointly owned by Walt Disney, News Corp., and Comcast. Guggenheim Digital, headed by former interim Yahoo CEO Ross Levinsohn, is also in the mix.
The Internet titan's interest in Hulu closely follows its failed attempt to acquire a majority stake in video site Dailymotion.

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Google may build wireless networks in emerging markets, WSJ says

Google is reportedly going into the cellular business in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia in an effort to connect more people to the Internet.

It may not just be fiber anymore. Google could expand into wireless Internet too.

Google's bid to connect everyone to the Internet may have it entering the wireless service business.
The company is looking at building cellular networks and offering service to emerging markets such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, according to The Wall Street Journal. Citing anonymous sources, WSJ reported that the networks would be available outside of big cities, where service is spotty or not available. Google is reportedly working with local companies on a possible deployment and thinking up business models to support the networks.

Google is also looking at building low-cost phones using its Android operating system, considering a satellite-based wireless system, and testing the use of different kind of wireless frequencies, according to the WSJ. The company is looking at different technologies and possible deployments, and may use a combination to deliver wireless service.
Google declined to comment on the report.
Google wants everyone around the world connected to a high-speed wireless service in the hopes that they will all use its services. The wireless network initiative is just another extension of the fiber-optic deployments it has made in select cities in the U.S.
In emerging markets, it isn't practical to build physical fiber networks to deliver Internet service. Most overseas countries that don't have an established landline infrastructure opt to skip it entirely and focus on the mobile networks, which are easier and less costly to deploy. For many people in these regions, the cellphone is their primary means of communications and Web access.
Such a plan marks the continued evolution of Google from a simple online search engine to a company that builds phones through its Motorola unit, offers software such as Android and Chrome, makes hardware such as the Chromebook, develops next-gen tech like Google Glass, and provides the Internet service Google Fiber.

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Today`s Quotes

“Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.”

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20% of commerce graduates hired in the BFSI sector

According to experts, other sectors that are hiring commerce graduates are Media/Entertainment, Pharma, Healthcare, Hospitality, and Retail among others

Data sourced from TimesJobs.com indicates that the top five industries hiring B Com graduates are BFSI, IT/Telecom, ITeS, advertising/PR/Event management and manufacturing. 20% of commerce graduates are hired by the BFSI sector, 18% in IT/Telecom, 17% in ITeS and a meager 6% and 5% in advertising and manufacturing industries respectively.
According to experts, other sectors which are hiring commerce graduates are Media/Entertainment, Pharma, Healthcare, Hospitality, and Retail among others. These freshers are hired for different roles based on the company’s focus or specialisation. Corporates also lay emphasis on the candidate’s behavioral traits and their participation in various extracurricular activities in college. Richard Rekhy, CEO, KPMG, opines, “We do hire B.Com and BA graduates. However, it’s not so much the stream they come from, but the experience they gained in those three-four years that matters. Being part of some activities in colleges that highlights their leadership skills as well as other extracurricular activities they were involved in is really important to us.” According to Rekhy the company needs more evolved individuals in the form of fresh graduates.
Organisatons are also looking at hiring graduates who have good communication skills, both written and verbal. There are some areas and gaps which the companies want these graduates to work upon before starting to work. According to Rupesh Basu, HR Manager, Siemens Ltd, “Most students study only from an examination point of view so they don’t focus on the basics. Though they have certain aspects covered in theory they lack the practical aspects.” Therefore, it is critical for universities and colleges to focus on practical training besides having theoretical classes.
As A G Rao, Group MD, Manpower Group India, states, “It is imperative to impart domain knowledge and relevant skills through teaching methods, pedagogical tools, industry and alumni interface. The domain knowledge and curriculum should be in sync with the business requirements.” He also adds, “Exams at the end of the year should be substituted with periodic exams, quantitative aptitude, project work, team assignments and creative skills.”
Naveen Kr. Jain, Associate Professor in Commerce and Member, Placement Cell, Hans Raj College, Delhi University, explains, “We hold seminars and programs on career options, resume- writing, group discussions, personality development, skill development etc. to make our students industry ready.”
Besides colleges taking initiative to make these students industry ready, it is also up to the individual to add value to his/ her profile over a period of time. Rao elaborates on this by saying that graduates need to enhance and work upon themselves to acquire education and employable skills that will get them decent jobs. It is therefore important to imbibe soft skills communications, team work, problem solving techniques, planning and organising tasks at hand.
Not only is it important to understand the skills required to get hired, it is essential to understand the kind of roles the companies are offering to these graduates. Depending on the kind of employer, job role for these freshers often varies. TimesJobs.com data reveals that 23% of commerce college graduates are being offered sales/business development roles, 22% are offered customer service/tele calling roles, 15% information technology profiles and 6% are offered accounting and finance jobs. Commenting on this hiring trend, Basu adds, “We hire commerce graduates as commercial trainees for a one year programme with us. They are offered business administration role also.”
Adds Jain, “Companies typically hire commerce graduates for the following roles – audit assistants, investment Analysts, Ad Word representatives, analysts, actuarial associates, sales managers, graduate associates, teaching associates.”
Organisations plan their compensation structure based on the kind of role that is offered. According to Deepak Kaistha, managing director, Planman Consulting, “The salary range varies from sectors, skill sets and the college from where the student has graduated. In general the salary begins from 15,000 – 20,000 per month varying further according to the skills and talents of the graduate.”
As much as an employee’s salary depends on a given job role, it also depends on the kind of skill sets they have. Therefore, it is crucial for colleges and other educational institutes to train these graduates well and make them industry ready. It is no longer only the course curriculum that the employers are interested in; they are equally keen to assess what the students have done to enhance their employable skills outside the classroom.

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“Employees would like companies to invest in their development process”

Lavleen Raheja, CEO & Managing Director, FranklinCovey India & South Asia discusses how organisations should handle appraisals 

What do employees generally expect from appraisals? How do you see the expectations changing in times ahead?
Employees usually expect increase in salary/position and responsibility. In the days to come I see certain employees expecting part of the profit share , some would look at value add to their roles , some would want companies investing in their future development holistically  like nomination for executive learning programs , PG courses etc a best institutes and universities. I also see variable very high performance based pay structure being agreed and expected too.
Are appraisals only about salary? What other benefits/perks help win over employee confidence?
No, appraisals are not only about salaries. Share in profits , share in ownership , long term loyalty bonuses , value additions on health , education of self and family, spiritual alignment are the other important factors which can help the organisations win over employee confidence.
Employees generally move out after pay hikes, what retention strategies do you put into place to control it?
We offer loyalty bonuses for 5 year stay to our employees. We also let them interview us when being hired so that their decision is well thought out, rather than just another decision. The spouses are also involved in joining decision, sometimes. We also roll out rewards, payouts throughout the year and surprise them with small but relevant perks.
What actually goes into building a sustainable and effective compensation strategy during appraisals?
An effective compensation strategy should align to the growth strategy of the company. Performance should be the key driver of compensation and luxuries of life should come through rewards for all. Salaries should be nice to keep the engine running easily but should not make the employees so comfortable that they become lazy and loose ambitions and growth paradigms. A range of 5 to 15% is a good range today but with performance regards for all. Salaries should build a performance culture rather than a complacency culture.
Which mechanism works best in dealing with post appraisal dissatisfaction?
The Candidate should not do the following things when his appraisal doesn’t meet his expectations:

• A candidate should not become reactive
• A candidate should not become aggressive
• A candidate should not feel depressed or elated
• A candidate should not blame the person or the system who appraised him
• A candidate should not form any biases or opinions either about the system or the person who appraised him / her

The candidate should do following things in a case where his appraisal don’t meet his expectations:

• A candidate should remain composed and be proactive in behavior
• A candidate should read the appraisal with a calm mind and try and understand the actions suggested carefully and evaluate and analyse them
• A candidate must seek time with his/ her appraiser and put forward the points on which clarifications are required
• The candidate must politely but assertively disagree on any such points / issues and present data and facts on these points of disagreement.
• If the candidate agrees to the points clarified, corrective actions and measures to be taken as suggested

In case the points are not agreed upon by candidate and the appraiser, then the candidate can seek independent opinions from senior colleagues with prior permission from the appraiser.
If the independent senior colleagues also think that the things mentioned in the appraisal are actually the areas of improvement for candidate, the candidate can work on the said issues for next quarter with the help of the appraising senior and seek all his / her support for development.
What is the average (percentage) appraisal you have offered this year?
We have offered 10% hike in salary and we have added something new called a fixed variable which is part of the performance incentives for all departments in our company.

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5 Foods that keep you young

Stay young, the natural way

Here are a few natural food items that can help you remain young and healthy

Looking young is the foremost priority of most people these days. Not just women, even men are wary of ageing. Instead of using the number of anti-ageing creams that have flooded the markets, one can go the natural way and opt for fruits and vegetables to help fight all age-related problems. Here are a few superfoods that can help control ageing and make you look younger -

1. Avocado - Apart from being high in Vitamin E, avocados are rich in antioxidants which help protect the skin. Avocados help in regenerating skin cells which makes your skin look fresh, giving a more youthful complexion.

2. Kidney beans - These pulses are full of fibre and potassium which help reduce the cholesterol levels and thus reduce the risk of any heart disease. But their major health benefit is that they are packed with proteins.

3. Dark chocolate - Any chocolate that contains at least 70% cocoa is full of proteins and Vitamin B. Regular small bites into this chocolate will help burn fat and improve your skin and hair.

4. Broccoli - Broccolis are a great source of fibre and Vitamin C which not only help control weight, but also help to fight heart diseases.

5. Blueberries - Blueberries are rich in Vitamin C, which help in easy circulation of blood. Blueberries also contain certain minerals which help control the anti-ageing process. High in potassium, these berries help fight puffiness.

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Those at the top in BCCI should resign: Lalit Modi

Lalit Modi has been very critical of the way the league has been run by the BCCI.

LONDON: Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has been very critical of the way the league has been run by the BCCI and even called board president N Srinivasan a "monster" in one of his recent tweets. In this exclusive interview with TOI, he talks about the current spot-fixing controversy, the Sahara pullout and much more.

Excerpts:

What does the Sahara development say about the BCCI and the manner in which it is being run?

If you look at the Sahara statement, it is easy to see why they've pulled the plug. The statement reflects a catalogue of miscommunication, evasion and BCCI's contempt for a company that has been involved in Indian cricket for over a decade. It does not reflect well on those running the game at the moment. I think Sahara have been incredibly benevolent in delaying the withdrawal of their support for the national team until January. This is another reason why those at the top in the BCCI should resign — the list of reasons is growing longer and longer.

Do you think BCCI will become isolated if it does not pull up its socks?

The problem is BCCI has become too strong for the good of the game. They seem to be adopting bully-boy tactics at every turn and they certainly seem to think they're indestructible at the moment. The pressure is mounting but no one wants to make a concerted effort to challenge them. Having said that, the mismanagement is there for all to see and the pendulum might swing. The problem for them now is that the issues are very public and people are beginning to piece together the jigsaw.

Isn't Srinivasan's conflict of interest (he is the BCCI president and owns Chennai Super Kings) hurting the IPL?

Of course! I've been saying that for years — and for years no one has listened. Now the penny is beginning to drop. I was wrongly accused of having an interest in franchises and wrongly castigated as a consequence. The board president's ownership of Chennai is indisputable but for him, it doesn't seem to matter. Of course it is hurting the IPL. It strikes at the very credibility of the tournament and the results are there for all to see. Strangely, everyone has just shrugged shoulders and let him get on with it.

Has Srinivasan succeeded in diluting the powers of the IPL commissioner?

It seems no one else has any direct power these days and it is as if no one can speak unless given permission. When this latest spot-fixing scandal was reported, the IPL commissioner did not say anything. The paying public, the people who fill the stadiums, deserve answers but the man who runs the specific tournament in question was nowhere to be seen. Now that might not be entirely down to him, I don't know, but the lack of communication was terrifying. The problem was massive to start with but so much extra damage is done if the people directly responsible for the tournament don't react.

Has BCCI been fair in the Sahara case, and earlier the Kochi case?

It doesn't look like it. The Sahara statement on their withdrawal was very damming and according to what you can read there it doesn't seem like the BCCI has been very fair or professional enough. I think it is a terrible way to treat a mainline sponsor. As for Kochi, well that was an accident waiting to happen. The BCCI caused the issue in the first place by reducing the guarantees required to purchase the franchise. It weakened the quality of the bidding and it was an inevitable outcome.

Isn't the concept of IPL flawed as it encourages all kinds of elements (including fixers, bookies) to get in and make quick money?

It doesn't make it any more palatable but what people appear to be missing is that the IPL is not the only sporting event where match fixing or spot fixing has gained a hold. The problem is, the people in charge are allowing it to seem that way. In January the FIFA general secretary Jerome Valke said match fixing was "a disease" that could kill football.

In February, the head of Australia's Crime Commission, John Lawler said match fixing was the single biggest problem facing Australian sports. You can't isolate the IPL as being the exclusive province of the fixers, but people are because the IPL has been allowed to become the subject of everybody's criticism. The IPL was built to be sporting entertainment. It was never meant to be a replacement for Test Cricket or ODI but a T20 carnival that was exciting and fun. People should ask whether it's the IPL that's flawed or the people running it.

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Spot-fixing probe reaches doorstep of BCCI chief's family

The whereabouts of the Meiyappan continued to be shrouded in mystery.

CHENNAI/MUMBAI: The IPL fixing scandal has reached the doorstep of Indian cricket's powerful boss and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owner N Srinivasan's family -- quite literally.

A day after The Times of India broke the story about the police investigating Srinivasan's son-in-law and CSK CEO Gurunath Meiyappan's phone conversations with Dara Singh's son Vindu for possible links with a betting syndicate, a five-member crime branch team from Mumbai arrived in Chennai on Thursday morning to serve summons on Meiyappan.

They first went to the headquarters of Srinivasan-controlled India Cements, and on finding no one there, stuck a copy of the summons on the door before going to Meiyappan's home around 2pm to instruct him to present himself before the CB between 11am and 5pm within 24 hours.

But with no member of the family available to meet the team, they were initially not let in by the guard; after several phone calls, they were allowed into the compound. Rama Subbu, the chief security officer of India Cements, arrived soon thereafter and was seen signing a paper which the officers handed him. Strangely though, on his way out, he denied having received any summons on behalf of Meiyappan.

Later in the evening, the crime branch is reported to have received a one-page fax from Meiyappan saying he was out of town and seeking time till Monday, with the assurance that he would appear in person. A top police officer told TOI on Thursday night that no decision had been taken on whether to allow him the extra time. If the police were to reject such a request, which seems unlikely, Meiyappan could be arrested. To avoid such a situation, he could move the courts on Friday seeking anticipatory bail. "This may give him a few days, but eventually he will have to appear," an officer said.

The whereabouts of the 35-year-old continued to be shrouded in mystery with speculation placing him variously in Kodaikanal (where he has a holiday home), Kolkata (where CSK plays the IPL finals on Sunday against the winners of the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals match) and Delhi (to prepare his legal defence with top-flight lawyers).

Nor is there any word as to where the BCCI chief might be although New Delhi was abuzz with rumours that he would leverage his considerable clout to counter what his supporters consider a "politically-motivated conspiracy to discredit him".

On May 16, the day Sreesanth and his two Rajasthan Royals were arrested, Srinivasan had said, "One or two bad eggs cannot sully the game," before stating, on further questioning, "I hope nobody else is involved, but if information comes to BCCI, we will act immediately."

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“Negative feedback can be good for your productivity”

Research points out that novices seek positive feedback for motivational purposes, whereas experts seek and respond to negative feedback in order to understand what they are doing wrong. Hema Parikh, Director HR, Ajuba Solutions gives some tips on providing negative, but constructive criticism to employees

How do you think negative feedback plays a role in enhancing efficiency?
Negative feedback is never easy, yet it is something that is required to bring out the best in employees, while ensuring that they stay focused in their goals and targets. It is a necessary evil and is critical to a brand’s performance because when the message is clearly communicated, it helps them to pull their act together and stay ahead of the race.
Negative feedback needs to be dealt with carefully. What are the things employers should keep in mind to keep the criticism on the constructive side?
Yes, negative feedbacks must be provided with utmost caution, and the need for providing one arises when

• Employees fail to prioritise their work depending on the criticality
• There is a failure in their working model to deliver the assigned target on time

While dealing with negative feedback, we must take care that we do not lose out on the actual message to be conveyed. A lost message is a lost cause.

• Make it occasional: In an industry where delivering critical task with the highest quality is not an option but a necessity, it becomes evident that criticism must be offered only on occasions when absolutely necessary and not be rampant in an organisation. We must avoid demotivating the employees by constant negative feedback. A feedback discussion on a one-on-one basis is welcomed where we discuss the points of improvement while appreciating their plus points. The process must entail positive reinforcement and clear communication.
• Keep it strictly objective: It is essential that we do not bring in any personal vendetta against the employees. By offering an unbiased and a strictly professional and job-specific feedback, we ensure that the professional relationship with the employee is not hampered. This kind of professional maturity is linked to the employee’s as well as the organisation’s goals.
• Diminish insecurities: The standard response to any negative feedback is defense. An employee tends to get defensive and the psychological impact is not same as a positive feedback. At such instances, we must remove any inhibitions or insecurities from the employee’s mind. As a direct result, the employee becomes open to criticisms and feedbacks with an open mind.
• Say it the proper way: One of the most important attributes of delivering constructive criticism is communicating the message correctly, and that includes
  • Sharing the reason for the negative feedback
  • Maintaining the criticism specific to the job without a digression of any sort
  • Suggesting corrective measures to recover from their faults.

By doing the above, we ensure that the feedback is implemented and at the same time, the morale of the employee is not affected negatively.
What could be the possible demerits of negative feedback?
Negative feedback can go wrong if

• It is not communicated right
• If the employee is not open to criticism, even if it is constructive

One of the biggest demerits of negative feedback is the strain in employer-employee relationship. If it is not taken in the right sense or if it not implemented correctly, it becomes a futile effort to bring out the best in an employee. At Ajuba, the higher management and the leaders have been successful in discussing drawbacks with the employees to deliver an efficient working model, keeping in mind the volatility of the situation and the sensitivity of the employee.

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