We seldom break news. That’s not quite our raison d’etre. Instead, we look for interesting ways to add value to news that really matters to our readers. And there was enough to keep our team busy this past fortnight. The outcome: A riveting set of newsy features that will keep you hooked.
You couldn’t possibly have picked up the morning newspapers or switched on the television without facing a constant barrage of the sordid goings-on at the IPL. If the heady cocktail of politics, business and cricket doesn’t get overrun by something even juicier, the off -the ground events at the IPL might well qualify as the story of the year. I’d recommend you read Abhishek Raghunath’s story on Lalit Modi, the man at the centre of the controversy. It brings fresh insights on his entrepreneurial chutzpah that helped build one of the most valuable sporting properties in the country — and why it also sowed the seeds of his downfall.
While IPL got front page billing, there was one other important story that was tucked away in the inside pages of our business newspapers: The story of how Financial Technologies and MCX cut their stake to 10 percent in MCX-SX by selling shares to 18 banks and two financial institutions. Behind the stake sale is the real story of Jignesh Shah, who started life as an engineer at BSE before going on to build the country’s biggest commodities exchange, MCX. S. Srinivasan and Pravin Palande’s cover package provides a ringside view of the noholds barred Battle of the Bourses between the country’s biggest stock exchange, National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Shah’s MCX-SX. For the first time in many years, the top team at NSE shared a brilliant perspective with Forbes India on its Next Big Thing.
Then there’s the Nano. For the past few months, Ratan Tata’s giant killer has met with a series of unfortunate incidents of fires. It’s serious enough to get the top team inside one of India’s largest auto companies mighty worried. Ashish Kumar Mishra picked up the threads of the story with an in-depth but balanced look at the reasons behind the crisis — and how Tata Motors is coping with it. Given the sheer level of painstaking research that’s gone into this story, I’d recommend this as an absolute must-read.
We have a special 24-page package in Life, our back of the book section, on The Global Business Traveller’s Guide. Put together by a team led by Cuckoo Paul and Sveta Basraon it offers a delectable menu of news, insights and trends that will keep every business traveller ahead of the curve.
We’re willing to bet that it’ll take you a lot longer to savour this edition. And so, this edition will stay on the stands till May 20, before we celebrate our First Anniversary with a Special Edition on May 21.
First Published: Apr 30, 2010, 00:02
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