Publication: The Economic Times Mumbai; Date: Aug 31, 2012; Section: Corporate Dossier; Page: 24 Fear Factor I am a senior manager who has been given a mandate to reduce my workforce. I have to choose the employees to be fired from my team this week. No matter what I tell them, they will feel hurt and curse me for wreaking havoc on their families and their careers. How do I deal with this guilt and make it less painful for all of us? In the Mahabharata, when the Pandava brothers inherit a forest, Khandava-prastha, and want to build on it a great city, named Indra-prastha, the city of Indra, Krishna says, "Then burn the forest. Set aflame every plant, every animal, every bird and every bee. Offer them to agni." When the Pandavas express their horror at the suggestion, Krishna says, "Then do not dream of a city."     Hunger (bhook) demands food (bhog). Consumption demands sacrifice (bali). Sacrifice has consequences (karma). This...

The ineluctable middlemen Everyone else in the travel business makes money off airlines. The carriers are trying to fight back Aug 25th 2012 | from The Economist AIRLINES are wonderful generators of profit—for everyone except themselves. Even in good times their margins are as thin as a boarding pass, and in recent years they have more often lost money (see chart). Averaged over the past four decades, the net profit margin of the world’s airlines, taken together, has been a measly 0.1%. By contrast, other bits of the travel business that depend on the airlines—such as aircraft-makers, travel agents, airports, caterers and maintenance firms—have done very nicely. Some of the tastiest margins in the travel business are enjoyed by the “global distribution systems” (GDSs), a fancy name for computerised-reservations services. These were originally created by several of the largest airli...

SWAMINOMICS SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR Indian politics today seems driven less by politicians and more by the Supreme Court and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). What does this imply for Indian democracy?     The answer is that we are seeing a revolt by India’s institutions against a corrupt, callous state. An implicit political conspiracy ensures that all parties can, with impunity, engage in kickbacks and nepotism on a grand scale. In such a milieu, outcomes are decided not by justice but by money, muscle and influence.     India’s institutions have responded by turning activist, and crossing old jurisdictional borders. Earlier, the Election Commission and Supreme Court had turned activist. The CAG has now followed suit.     Activism can lead to excesses. Yet it’s better to have activist institutions, excesses and all, than passive institutions allowing money, muscle and influence to reign supreme....

2G, K - G, CWG, Coal allotment, Airport usage etc., etc............00000000000000000000000000000 India invented the zero, Our politicians have invented infinite zeros, It is difficult to keep a count on the number of zeroes in each scam. There is a race it seems amongst the politicians, “ Uskae zero mere zero sa jyada kyu hai.”