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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011! - From http://trak.in

Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!:

'via Blog this'


A list of the top 10 bestselling books of 2011 in India would typically include the well known names of Chetan Bhagat, Amish and their likes. But a list of bestselling books in the business category is rare. Let’s take a look at the Top 10 business bestselling books in India in 2011, with a few picks from the Business Standard list of the same title.

The Winning Way

By Harsha & Anita Bhogle
image17 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!A famous sports commentator (who is himself an IIM-A grad) and his IIM-A grad wife join forces to write a book about how businesses can take valuable lessons from sports about winning, loosing, combating and rising above from failure. Interestingly this book also marks 300 training workshops for ‘The Winning Way’ that the Bhogle couple have led.
ISBN - 9789380658322

Corporate Chanakya

By Radhakrishnan Pillai
image18 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!The last few years have regenerated an interest in ‘Arthashastra’ written by the great mathematician, administrator and statesman Chanakya. R Pillai has presented his version of the simplification of the sutras, mantras and trade secrets that Chanakya has explained in his original epic. More like a corporate guide, Pillai’s simplified version gives tips on management, leadership and training.
ISBN - 9788184951332


The Habit of Winning

By Prakash Iyer
image19 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!Here’s one more IIM-A grad who has jumped on the bandwagon of penning experiences based on his 25 year corporate career in which he sold everything from soaps to diapers. ‘The Habit of Winning’ is a mix about inspirational stories and real life incidents. From the Cola Wars to Michelle Obama’s brand management, these stories aim to inspire you to be a winner in everyday life.
ISBN - 9780143068280


The TCS Story & Beyond

By Ramadorai
image20 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!It’s amazing to read a book written by a man who has maneuvered his way through an organization for almost 40 years. From the days of Y2K when TCS expanded its client base to the IPO of TCS in 2004 to the potential merger with Tata Burroughs to the large scale recruitments drives that TCS is now undertaking, Ramadorai narrates a great journey that you ought to be a part of.
ISBN - 9780670084906


I Have a Dream

By Rashmi Bansal
image21 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!An MBA graduate from IIM-A herself, Ms. Bansal has already authored two bestselling books on entrepreneurship previously. While her first book talked about MBA graduates who jumped on the entrepreneurship bandwagon, her second book talks about non MBA graduates, her recently launched book ‘I Have a Dream’ talks about 20 idealists who become the change they want to see in the world.
ISBN - 9789380658384

Unusual People Do Things Differently

By TGC Prasad
image22 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!This book makes for an amazing read because it collects the success stories of 65 varied and interesting people – from famous people like Azim Premji and Mother Teresa to a common realtor, a CA, an attorney and a sports coach amongst many others. The common denominator that Prasad points out in all these people is their ability to think out of the box and accomplish extraordinary things.
ISBN - 9780143416753


Uncommon Ground: Dialogues With Business And Social Leaders

By Rohini Nilekani
image23 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!A philanthropist and a social activist by profession, Nilekani has penned this book based on interactions between business magnates and social leaders. Based on a TV show which she hosted in 2008, the book explores 8 major themes of polarization between business and voluntary social sectors. Capturing rare conversations between industry giants, Nilekani helps her readers realize that social and corporate developments inadvertently go hand in hand.
ISBN - 9780670085620

Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

By Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo
image24 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!Co-written by MIT professors, Poor Economics answers questions of whether a billion hungry people really exist or not, why the poor who don’t have enough to eat end up buying a TV, how having more children directly relates to poverty and so on. If you want to learn more about the economics of poverty, pick up this book which is also the winner of the 2011 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.
ISBN – 9788184001815

Thorns To Competition

By Arindam & Rajita Chaudhuri
image25 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!Although IIPM and its founders have undergone a lot of controversy for their institute offering MBAs, this book remained popular in 2011. With none less than SRK launching this book, the main theme is about the hard selling strategies of modern day marketing. Formulating an acronym for THORN (Target It Right/ Hit Where It Hurts / Obsess With It / Reinvent It / Nail It / Sell It), the book pretty much maintains aggression in marketing as its central theme – sounds familiar to what IIPM is doing, isn’t it?
ISBN – 9788125951940

Steve Jobs: An Exclusive Biography

By Walter Isaacson
image26 Top 10 Indian bestselling business books of 2011!Although this is not an Indian book, it has been a bestseller in India particularly because of the unfortunate death of Jobs, of course. Not much needs to be said about this book except that it is an absolutely stirring narrative of this creative genius. This book sold a little over 14,000 copies in its first week in India, compared with a massive379,000 in the United States.
ISBN - 9781408703748

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Justice V G Sabhahit Dies in his Court Chamber


 Senior Judge of the High Court of Karnataka Justice V G Sabhahit died in his chamber at the court, following a cardiac arrest on Monday.


Justice Sabhahit, who returned to his chamber after completing court proceedings in the evening complained of chest pain. His staff immediately called the doctors who arrived at his chamber and suggested that he be shifted to the hospital at once. However, the hospital authorities declared him brought dead.

Justice Sabhahit, who was suffering from heart problems, had suffered two heart attacks earlier. Justice Sabhahit was born on November 26, 1955. He enrolled as an advocate in 1979 and practised in the High Court before he joined the Karnataka Judicial Service as district judge on April 18, 1988.

He was promoted to the cadre of district judge (super time scale) on November 22, 1995.

Sabhahit was appointed as additional Judge of the High Court of Karnataka in 2000, and was made a permanent Judge in 2001.

Several legal experts have expressed their condolences over the death of Justice Sabhahit. 
Incidentally, Sabhahit’s father, G N Sabhahit, also a judge of the High Court had died in his chamber at the court.

Justice Sabhahit’s order pertaining to the disqualification of Ninge Gowda under the Panchayat Raj Act is considered a benchmark for disqualification cases.



 He was third in seniority among judges in the High Court of Karnataka.


Justice Sabhahit was in the limelight when eleven BJP MLAs had rebelled against B S Yeddyurappa in 2010. The dissident MLAs had approached the High Court of Karnataka where a specially constituted Bench consisting of Chief Justice J.S. Kehar and Justice N. Kumar heard the pleas of the BJP MLAs against their disqualification. The Bench heard their pleas and gave a split verdict with Justice Kehar upholding their disqualification while Justice Kumar was in favour of setting aside their disqualification.

The matter was then heard by a third judge, Justice VG Sabhahit who upheld their disqualification. Justice V.G. Sabhahit held that it was clear that the contents of the letter given to the Governor by the MLAs would lead to the inevitable inference that the intention of the petitioners was to voluntary giving up membership of the BJP.





While Justice V G Sabhahit died after a cardiac arrest in the Karnataka High Court on Monday, his father, a former HC judge, too died while performing duty.

Justice Sabhahit’s father, G N Sabhahit, was a judge during Justice P C Jain’s tenure as the Karnataka chief justice (1986 to 1989). He had a heart attack while conducting proceedings and died in his chamber in the High Court.

Last year, Justice V G Sabhahit’s gunman Pandu died of cardiac arrest while on duty.

Justice Sabhahit hailed from the coastal town of Idugunji.

Justice Sabhahit was honoured with a state funeral on Tuesday with several dignitaries, including legal luminaries, paying their respects to him.



Incidentally, the annual Late Justice G N Sabhahit Memorial Trust Lecture, was to be held at Karwar, in connection with which Justice V G Sabhahit had visited Karwar on the preceding Sunday.



Rich tributes were paid to the departed Soul, and native of Karwar district, by the Judges, DC, Advocates, and members of Karwar District Bar Association, at Karwar on Tuesday.







Saturday, December 3, 2011

Are we a soft state?

Are we a soft state?:   'via Blog this'

It’s been three years. The scars of a 60-hour-long terror siege which scripted a gory tale in blood are very much visible.
The unprecedented terror strikes on multiple targets across India’s financial capital -- carried out by ten trained Pakistani jihadis, executed by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) inside Pakistan -- snuffed out the lives of at least 166 innocent people and wounded more than 300.

Mumbai Police, Rapid Action Force personnel, Marine Commandos and National Security Guards performed their duties with remarkable bravery and professionalism in their battle with the terrorists. Fifteen policemen and two NSG commandos sacrificed their lives in the counter-offensive.

On the third anniversary of Mumbai terror attacks, let’s pay tribute to the unsung heroes and the victims.

Zero progress by Pakistan

Dossiers after dossiers were sent to Pakistan. Date after date was set for action against the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks. But, three years after 26/11, there is zero progress by Pakistan to bring the perpetrators to justice.

However, has India failed to bend Pakistan internationally? If so, blame it on the UPA leadership. Don’t forget this government shocked the nation by delinking terrorism from Indo-Pak composite dialogue in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2009. Early this month Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went on to describe his Pakistani counterpart “a man of peace”.

26/11 terrorists are having a field day

Three years after 26/11, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive is still facing a death sentence. The Bombay High Court upheld his death penalty, awarded by a special court in Mumbai. Last month, the Supreme Court stayed execution of the death sentence “to facilitate due process of law”.

The cost of keeping Kasab alive is as much as Rs 100 crore and counting.
a still awaits access to 26/11 plotter David Coleman Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Rana, who are in FBI custody.

Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the mastermind of 26/11 attacks continues his anti-India rhetoric from inside Pakistan. However, Pakistan maintains that there is not enough evidence against him.

How prepared we are to tackle terror?

26/11 had laid bare an abysmal intelligence and a spineless security, which helped the terror siege to succeed. Three years on, is India alert and prepared to thwart future terror attacks?

After 26/11 attacks, there were six major bomb blasts in different parts of the nation. Compensations for the victims were announced. Probes were ordered. Sketches of the suspects were prepared. However, the investigative agencies are struggling to find a “conclusive lead” in most of the cases.

Terrorists come at their will, kill innocent people and disappear into their cubby holes. But so “efficient” our intelligence agencies are that they do not even find clues of their whereabouts! And hunt for the suspects goes on....

The intelligence agencies utterly fail to read the changing modus operndi of the terrorists. They fail to gather inputs to thwart future terror strikes. They are unable to prevent one attack after another. But what are the reasons?

There are serious problems in India’s intelligence matrix. First, the multiplicity of its structure leads to confusion. Second, there is lack of co-ordination between agencies. Third, a sizable chunk of intelligence and security officials are not professionally trained and equipped to carry out their tasks. Fourth, there is a gross disconnect between the Centre and the states in tackling terror. Fifth, there are huge vacancies in security and intelligence agencies which have not been filled for years.

The apex organisation for India’s intelligence is the Intelligence Bureau (IB) which has a cascading bureaucratic structure. The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), on the other hand, deals with India’s external intelligence and works under a “cloak of secrecy”.

Several states have set up Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to fight terror. All these intelligence agencies rarely share inputs, perhaps considering them as “highly secret”.

In the aftermath of Mumbai terror attacks, India has set up National Investigation Agency (NIA). This is supposed to be central agency to combat terrorism. But the agency is yet to build its capacity.

The proposed National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), which aims at facilitating information sharing by security agencies and law enforcement agencies to combat terror remains a work in progress.

The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) which is supposed to gather “highly specialised technical intelligence” is almost defunct.

The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTS) -- modelled on United States -- the “nodal agency” for counter terrorism with representation from all security and intelligence agencies is yet to take its shape.

In that case, undertrained and poorly equipped state police machineries are often being used to investigate and respond to terror attacks.

Time and again several ideas were floated, various recommendations were made to revamp India’s security architecture. But nothing has changed. India’s intelligence and security agencies remain in their moribund condition, giving an edge to the terrorists.

This is in sharp contrast to the countries like US which succeeded in uprooting terrorism by enhancing their already organised security system. Post 9/11, America has set up a separate ministry called Homeland Security and enacted USA PATRIOT Act, helping the country to intercept and obstruct further terror strikes. So did Europe and Israel. But we couldn’t.

Surge in home grown terrorism

This is not to dispute that terrorism in India is emanated from across the border. But the cross-border terror networks work in tandem with the local terror elements.

In the last one decade there was a surge in home grown terrorism. More interestingly, the local terror elements are getting political patronage.

Lack of political willpower

The Congress-led UPA government’s track record in tackling terror is abysmally poor. At present, India does not have any proper anti-terror law. It was the UPA government which repealed Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA) in 2004 perhaps “to protect the rights of the terror accused”.

Remember, the government shamelessly went on to justify its move saying, “A tough law can’t prevent terror attacks”. But after 26/11, the government woke up from its slumber and amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, incorporating some provisions from the POTA. But the UPA so far has failed to explain to the nation why it is reluctant to bring a separate anti-terror law.

The immediate priorities

India is vulnerable to terror attacks. To fight terror, the country needs to strengthen its security and intelligence. The need of hour is to revamp border security, maritime security and aerial security. The nation needs a complete recast of its intelligence mechanism. There is a pressing need for stringent counter-terrorism policy and its implementation. In order to weed out terrorism from its roots, India needs to terrorise the terrorists and their sympathisers.

In the end, the one pertinent thought that resonates years after the 26/11 attacks is – Does human life count for even a little bit in India?

The government should act and that too fast.

First Published: Saturday, November 26, 2011, 21:17 in http://zeenews.india.com

Friday, December 2, 2011

Issues relating to pending cases not projected properly: CJI - Hindustan Times


Chief justice of India S H Kapadia on Saturday said the issues relating to pendency and arrears of cases have not been projected properly giving a "totally wrong impression that there have been millions of cases pending". "The pendency and arrears of the cases have not been to the extent as projected," the CJI said on the occasion of the Law Day celebration.
He said he wanted to put the records straight and gave the figure of 56,383 matters as pending in the Supreme Court till November 1 this year.
Kapadia said arrears in high courts and subordinate courts are to the tune of 3.19 crore in which 74% cases are less than five years old.
The chief justice, who lauded the efforts of the apex court in the last one-and-half years in disposing of the cases, said there was a need to make distinction between the pending cases.
He said delay in the disposal of the matters was because of several factors like failure to remove the defects and objections by the advocates.
He said at present there are 40,000 cases which are pending in objection and some of them have been since 1994.
"There are 71% of the cases in which services have not been completed or defects have not been removed and they are not ready for hearing," the CJI said.
He said there are only 8710 matters which are ready  for hearing.
However, he said even the ready matters cannot be taken tomorrow and "you have to give some time to us" as on an average 710 days are taken to complete one matter.
He said serious attention was needed for disposal of matters in High Courts and Subordinate Courts where 74% of cases are less than five years old.