We have to create world class institutions with a soul: Mukesh Ambani

Amid the debate over making it mandatory for companies to spend at least 2 per cent of profits on CSR activities, RIL Chairman and India's wealthiest person Mukesh Ambani today suggested improving corporate social responsibility to Continuous Social Business.

"The purpose of any business cannot be only profit. Profit for the shareholders is important. But unless entrepreneurs have a larger purpose and businesses that change lives of millions of people, a sustainable business cannot be created," he said at FICCI's Annual General Meeting here.

"We will have to move from a model of Corporate Social Responsibility to a model of Continuous Social Business through enterprise and entrepreneurship," he said. "For that, we will have to create world class institutions with a soul."

"It is important to get the business of businesses right," he said, adding that the primary responsibility of business is social improvement.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has proposed that companies should spend at least 2 per cent of their annual profits on CSR activities, but the industry has opposed the proposal.

Calling for increased spends from the government in healthcare and education, Ambani said that outlays in healthcare formed only 1 per cent of India's GDP, which he said needs to grow at least five-folds.

"Our demographic dividend, the youth and the young, are largely unprotected and uncared for. We will need to radically transform healthcare delivery to all our people," he said.

"Current food prices justify heavy investment and job creation has to be through agriculture and rural economic growth," Ambani said. He foresees an additional USD 500 billion opportunity for India in agriculture output.

The opportunity in Indian agriculture is as big as it is in energy, he said, adding that the country needs more policies like the liberalisation policy of 1991.

Stating that a large untapped opportunity existed for India to boost its under-leveraged consumer class, Ambani said the country's per capita income is less than USD 1000, one-third of China, while its per capita energy consumption is minuscule.

"Less than 1 per cent of our population uses credit cards for transactions and consumer loans are about 10 per cent of the total loan disbursals, representing an under-leveraged consumer class," Ambani said.

He said that India has grossly under-performed both in expanding access and improving the quality of education.

"In a fast moving world, we have not managed to make our education system contemporary," he said.

On agriculture, Ambani said that the sector is still languishing in the low end of the agronomy value chain.

"It is a victim of the low-investment, low-yield, inefficient water use and shocking levels of waste of farm produce. This situation must change," he said, adding "Indian agriculture will require the use of modern farming methods and plant biotechnology. It will require new water-saving micro-irrigation practices".

On manufacturing sector, Ambani said that Indian manufacturing industry has to carefully target the export markets.

"It needs to focus on scale, technology and customer needs. It needs to improve efficiency across the supply chain," he said.

He called Indian businesses to get more involved in rural India. "They need to understand the nuances and the challenges of rural India," he added.

Ambani said that India's economy has crossed USD 1.3 trillion, a fourfold growth in 20 years.

"The next 40 years could see even more explosive growth. Several estimates are projecting that our GDP would range between 30 to 40 trillion USD by 2050," he said adding "In the coming years, India would become the fastest growing economy in the world."

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Salary earners with income up to Rs 5 lakh need not file returns @ careerport.blogspot.com

Salary earners having an income of less than Rs 5 lakh will not have to file tax returns from this year, a finance ministry official said.

"Salaried people, may be up to Rs 5 lakh...they need not file the (income tax) return," CBDT chairman Sudhir Chandra told reporters at the customary post-Budget press conference.

The exemption from filing tax returns come into effect from the assessment year 2011-12.

In case such a salary earner has income from other sources like dividend, interest etc. and does not want to file returns, he will have to disclose such income to his employer for tax deduction, Chandra said.

The government, he said, is working out a scheme and will notify it "very soon".

The Form 16 issued to salaried employees will be treated as Income Tax Return, he added.

Earlier, in the day, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had proposed to exempt salaried employees from filing tax returns.

According to the Memorandum to the Finance Bill 2011, the government will be issuing a notification exempting 'classes of persons' from the requirement of furnishing income tax returns.

The decision, which will come into effect from June 1, 2011, will reduce the compliance burden on small taxpayers, it added.

Every person whose income exceeds the taxable limit is presently required to file returns.

Another finance ministry official said the decision to raise tax exemption limit of very senior citizens (80 years above) to Rs 5 lakh will benefit about 15,000 tax payers.

Mukherjee announced an increase in the income tax limit of very senior citizens to Rs 5 lakh. They will have to pay a tax of 20% for income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 8 lakh and 30 per cent beyond Rs 8 lakh.

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At Rs 6.14 cr, Cognizant CEO is top paid

With IT companies and their stocks emerging strongly from the recession, the focus is shifting to how much their top executives are taking home as salary.

Late last week, IT major Cognizant disclosed its top executives' remuneration to American stock exchanges. CEO Francisco D'Souza earned $1.36 million as salary and bonus in 2010. That would roughly be Rs 6.14 crore converted at Rs 48.58 per dollar. This includes a base salary of Rs 2.44 crore and a bonus of Rs 3.7 crore.

In comparison, Vineet Nayar, the managing director and chief executive of HCL Technologies, took home a total of Rs 4.54 crore out of which Rs 1.2 crore was base salary (as of June 2010), according to think tank CMIE.

Natarajan Chandrasekaran of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) earned Rs 2.97 crore, which included a bonus of 2 crore. S Gopalakrishnan of Infosys earned Rs 1.01 crore and Arun Jain of Polaris Software got Rs 1.62 crore. Even Wipro's two outgoing CEOs Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani were paid Rs 2.11 and Rs 2.96 crore respectively (as declared on March 31, 2010).

On a standalone basis, these salaries are not globally competitive, say recruiters. "Salaries of Indian CEOs are artificially kept low because astronomical figures at higher level will raise demands for appropriate increase in salaries in levels down the chain. This is particularly true of Indian IT companies," said Ganesh Shermon, partner & country head (human capital) at KPMG India.

"But if you combine their other two sources of income - commissions (a percentage of the overall profit as pay) and stock options, then yes, the salaries are truly competitive in the global sense. Indian IT stocks are doing better than global stocks and this helps too," Shermon said.

However, even on a standalone basis, CEO salaries are rising. "Local growth factors in conjunction with strong demand for talent are fuelling this (salary) growth," says James Agarwal, consulting director and business head at BTI Consultants, a HR firm specialising in senior executive searches. Indian talent, he said, is in high demand not only within the country but also globally and the influx of MNCs is only reinforcing the trend.

"Also the fact that average tenure of CEO in India is lesser compared to western nations contributes to this since they need stronger incentive."

An interesting feature is that, unlike the US, where bonuses will be huge compared to salaries, in India salaries are almost equal to the bonuses paid out. TCS, and to some extent Cognizant, is an exception. "Indian corporates play it safe by having a stronger guaranteed component. Ideally, a big chunk of it should be bonus which should be evaluated on the basis of the company's performance. Increases in salary should happen in bonuses and not in the guaranteed component which should be affected only by inflation," Shermon said.

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henkel india's MD quits

CHENNAI: Jayant K Singh, the managing director of Henkel India, has resigned from the board of directors under mysterious circumstances. Domenicoluca Mammola, the CFO of the company, has been elevated as the joint MD.

Company sources said that Singh resigned on February 23 and the necessary filings were made with the regulators. However, there has been no filing with the stock exchanges about the exit of Singh.

Even on Tuesday Henkel said that its board met on February 8 and "authorised Jayant Singh or its CFO Domenicoluca Mammola to negotiate and finalise the proposal to dispose the movable assets of the hair care division of Henkel".

"Between February 8 and now, there has been a lot of change at Henkel. The German parent (which holds 50.97% in the company), wants to bring in changes within to facilitate the restructuring process which is currently on. There are allegations within the company that Singh did not resign, instead he was asked to leave on performance related issues," sources said.

Singh could not be reached for comment. He joined Henkel India in February 2009 with over 15 years experience in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry across a number of blue-chip organisations including Procter & Gamble, Mars, Gillette and GlaxoSmithkline.

A spokesperson for the company said Jayant K Singh resigned as the MD and director of Henkel India with effect from February 22 and the board accepted it. "Therefore, the position of Jayant K Singh as managing director and director of Henkel India shall stand terminated as of February 22 (or such earlier date as may be agreed between Jayant Singh and Henkel India)."

Henkel India, a joint venture between Tamil Nadu Petroproducts and Henkel AG of Germany, is in the throes of change where it has mandated HSBC to restructure its Indian operations, which includes the sale of some of its businesses or the company as a whole.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: JAN-FEB 2011

These will be very helpful for all of readers of my blog cause recently GPSC Mamlatdar recruitment is going on and you all know how GENERAL AWARENESS of a CURRENT AFFAIRS is important so here is for my readers please share it on your Social Sites Accounts.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: JANUARY 2011

NATIONAL AFFAIRS RBI’s Mid-Term Policy ReviewOn January 25, 2011, the Reserve Bank of India raised its policy interest rates by a quarter percentage point, squeezing money supply again in the economy in its battle to control price rise. It also upped its inflation forecast, underlining a grim posture. The RBI raised the repo rate, at which it lends to banks, by 25 basis points to 6.5%, while the reverse repo, at which it takes bank funds, rose by the same measure to 5.5%. Such squeezes are aimed at making loans costlier to control demand, and thus, inflation. The RBI kept options open for a further squeeze on rates, even as it maintained that GDP growth would be a strong 8.5% in 2010-11, although it might ease the following year. It revised up the benchmark inflation estimate based on wholesale prices to 7.0% at end-March from 5.5%. “Inflation stemming from structural demand-supply mismatches in several non-cereal food items such as pulses, oil-seeds, eggs, fish, meat and milk is likely to persist till supply response kicks in," said the RBI. Rural job Plan turns five but a lot needs to be done The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, UPA’s flagship aam admi scheme, turned five on February 2, 2011. However, more than 30% of the rural India working under the right-to-work act continue to receive wages below the guaranteed minimum as per the minimum wages act. On January 14, the Ministry of Rural Development issued a notification revising the wage rates under the MNREGA from Rs 100 per day to between Rs 117 and Rs 181 (17-30 % hike) in different States. The revision under Section 6(1) of the 2005 Act, coming in wake of inflationary pressures on the poor, adjusts the wages by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index of Agricultural Laborers (CPIAL). Though the Ministry claims the revision takes NREGA wages above the minimum wages in 26 States and Union Territories, analysis shows the other eight States that continue getting less than minimum wages constitute 1.3 crore households or 31% of the total 4.1 crore households provided work till January 31, 2011. The eight include smaller States such as Goa and Mizoram, which have less number of workers under the scheme. But, the States also include the two showpieces under MNREGA—Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan—that brought in reforms like social audit, post office-bank payments into the mother of all schemes with a budget allocation of Rs 40,100 in 2010-11. Though numerous villages, like Saru in Udaipur district of Rajasthan, have benefited from MNREGA, the average they receive is under Rs 100 a day, forcing many to go in search of work as far as Ahmedabad, Surat where they Rs 200 to Rs 250 per day. Srikrishna panel report The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee report was made public on January 6, 2011. It has strongly advocated maintaining united Andhra Pradesh along with creation of statutory Telangana Regional Council to address the core socio-economic concerns of the backward region. “This is the most workable option in the given circumstances and in the best interest of the social and economic welfare of people of all the three regions in the state,” the committee said in its 500-page report. The five-member panel was set up in February 2010 to examine the competing demands for carving out a separate Telangana State and maintaining the status quo. After an elaborate exercise involving interactions with various groups, field visits and examining over 2.50 lakh petitions, the committee presented a set of six options and discussed their pros and cons in great detail. The stress on maintaining unity formed a common thread that ran through the report. On bifurcation, which has been the single point agenda of Telangana protagonists, the Committee said it was the “second best option” but could be recommended “only in case it is unavoidable and if this decision can be reached amicably among all three regions.” However, the committee warned that division of the State would have repercussions in other regions. “If earlier agitations are anything to go by, this decision will give rise to serious and violent agitations in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions where backlash will be immediate, the key issues being Hyderabad and sharing of water and irrigation resources,” the report said. Elaborating further on consequences of splitting the State, the Committee said: “The division will also have serious implications outside AP. It will give fillip to other similar demands. The matter should also be seen in the larger context of whether a region can be allowed to decide for itself what its political status should be, as that would only create a demand for a great number of smaller States resulting in problems of coordination and management.” The panel said: “We are convinced that the development aspect is of utmost importance for the welfare of all the three regions and could best be addressed through a model that includes deeper and more extensive economic and political de-centralisation.” The OPTIONS —Maintaining status quo but allow economic and political de-centralisation. —Bifurcation of the State into Seemandhra and Telangana; with Hyderabad as a Union Territory. The two States will develop their own capitals in due course of time. —Bifurcation into Rayala-Telangana and coastal Andhra regions with Hyderabad being an integral part of Rayala-Telangana. —Bifurcation into Seemandhra and Telangana with enlarged Hyderabad Metropolis as a separate Union Territory. This Union Territory will have geographical linkage and contiguity via Nalgonda district in the south-east to district Guntur in coastal Andhra and via Mahboobnagar district in the south to Kurnool district in Rayalaseema. —Bifurcation into Telangana and Seemandhra as per existing boundaries with Hyderabad as the capital of Telangana and Seemandhra to have a new capital. Historical Timeline —Andhra, Rayalaseema were part of Madras province. —Telangana was part of the Hyderabad State for 400 years. —In 1953, Andhra and Rayalaseema separated from Madras. —In 1956, Andhra merged with Telangana. —1969: Telangana Praja Samiti was formed. —1972: Jai Andhra movement in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra. —2000: TDP opposes creation of Telangana. —2001: K. Chandrashekhara Rao forms Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). Visit of President of Indonesia History met geography when Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took the salute as the Chief Guest at India’s 62nd Republic Day parade on January 26, 2011. President Soekarno, whose close friends Jawaharlal Nehru and Biju Patnaik helped defy the Dutch colonial embargoes of the late 1940s that enabled Indonesia gain independence, was the Chief Guest at the founding of the Indian republic, in 1950. President Yudhoyono came to Delhi with a large business delegation and witnessed the signature of a clutch of agreements, including between private enterprises. New investment commitments worth $12 billion were signed, with the Indians looking to put their money in infrastructure projects such as airports, railways and ports. Indian business interest in Indonesia is kindled not only by the fact of its large, 238 million population, and therefore, a large market, but also because it is the gateway to the ASEAN, a region of over 300 million people that spans 10 States from Myanmar to the Philippines. India and Indonesia signed nearly 30 agreements, including an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty, and pledged to achieve a bilateral trade target of $ 25 billion by 2015, from about $ 11 billion in 2009-10. The main accords signed by the two sides were: MOU for cooperation in the field of education; MOU on the establishment of biennial trade ministers’ forum; protocol for extension of the MOU on cooperation in marine and fisheries; MOU for the development of urea manufacturing plant in Indonesia; air services agreement; MOU on cooperation in oil and gas; MOU on cooperation in the field of micro, small and medium enterprises; MOU on cooperation in science and technology; and MOU between the Press Council of India and the Press Council of Indonesia. In a joint statement issued after the talks between the Prime Minister and the Indonesian President, the two countries unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there could be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. In the field of tourism, the two leaders recognized that a quantum leap in tourism between India and Indonesia was desirable to strengthen vibrant and long-standing people-to-people ties. As a step towards this objective, the Prime Minister announced a scheme of granting visa on arrival to the citizens of Indonesia. India, Italy to set-up joint trade panel On January 31, 2011, India and Italy decided to set up a Joint Business Council (JBC), a bilateral trade cooperation body, to work together in areas like ICT, infrastructure and manufacturing. The decision was taken during the meeting of India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Italian Minister for Economic Development Paolo Romani, in Rome. The JBC will be managed by FICCI from the Indian side and by CONFINDUSTRIA from the Italian side. It will meet once a year, coinciding with the bilateral ministerial meeting. The two ministers also discussed the importance of SMEs and it was agreed that soon industry chambers of both the countries would organise workshops and seminars. Seeking closer cooperation in infrastructure sector, Sharma informed Romani that India would soon come out with a manufacturing policy aimed at increasing the contribution of manufacturing to 24 per cent of the GDP, from 16 per cent now. Romani assured India that Italian entrepreneurs would take huge advantage of the investment opportunities in India. USA lifts export curbs on DRDO, ISRO The US has removed nine Indian space and defence related companies, including those from ISRO and DRDO, from its export control ‘Entity List’ in an attempt to expand high technology trade and strategic cooperation with India. The US decision meets a long pending Indian demand and is the first step to implement the export control policy initiative announced by US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 8, 2010, after their summit talks in New Delhi. The nine entities are Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), four remaining subsidiaries of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the US sanction list and another four of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The DRDO subsidiaries are Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Defence Research and Development Lab (DRDL), Missile Research and Development Complex and Solid State Physics Laboratory Liquid Propulsion Systems Center, Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant (SPROB), Sriharikota Space Center (SHAR), and Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) are the four ISRO subsidiaries. Removal from the ‘Entity List’ eliminates a licence requirement specific to the companies, and results in the companies off the list being treated the same way as any other destination in India for export licensing purposes. “These changes reaffirm the US commitment to work with India on our mutual goal of strengthening the global non-proliferation framework,” said US Under-Secretary of Commerce Eric L. Hirschhorn. Justice Patil report on 2G Scam The one-man committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Shivraj V. Patil, who was appointed by the Telecom Ministry to look into the lapses in the allocation of the 2G Spectrum, has identified the guilty in the report which was submitted on January 31, 2011. After former Telecom Minister A. Raja resigned, the panel was set up on December 13 2010 to look into the Spectrum allocation procedures and policies from 2001 to 2009. The period also included the issuing of telecom licences during the NDA regime. During 2001-04, the BJP-led NDA Government was at the Centre and Raja had been saying that he only followed the policies of his predecessors. The panel has nailed A. Raja for procedural lapses. The report also named seven other officials in the Department of Telecom (DoT), including former DoT Secretary Siddharth Behura and R.K. Chandolia, a former lieutenant of Raja. Justice Patil clarified that procedural lapses of different types were found in different periods and that referred to not just the particular year in question but also before that. He said that procedural shortcomings were found in applications of telecom operators and that there were many shortcomings on the part of DoT officials in implementing procedures. The panel was also asked to examine if procedures were followed consistently and if these were followed in fair and transparent manner and report any deviation, shortcomings and lapses. Country’s top audit body Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had earlier alleged that several operators had suppressed information while applying in 2007 to bag licences and the 2G Spectrum from A Raja. Justice Patil said that in the report he had suggested remedial measure with regard to the licensing policies and procedures. Concerning the guilty identified in the report, Patil said he could not produce supporting documents as they were with the CBI. Prime Minister draws up 20-point agenda on Corruption Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has outlined a comprehensive agenda to make transparency and ethics the core focus of governance at all levels. A 20-point agenda to bring about procedural improvements to achieve this goal is on the anvil. Adoption of Finland’s procedural model is also under consideration. Critical steps under active consideration by the government include instructions to clearly mention on files involving clearances by them whether the decision was a government one (taken by the Cabinet) or one by the official himself. Other steps being planned are: Proper scrutiny of officials before appointments, especially to critical posts, posting on websites the names of officials involved in corruption cases and permission to prosecute identified cases. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Dilma Rousseff is Brazil’s first woman PresidentOn January 1, 2010, Dilma Rousseff became the Brazil's first female President. She has promised to build on an unprecedented run of economic success achieved by her popular predecessor and mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Thousands of admirers braved a driving rain and cheered as Rousseff rode to her inauguration in a 1953 Rolls Royce flanked by an all-female security detail. The former Marxist guerrilla, who evolved over the years into a pragmatic civil servant with a professed obsession for reducing poverty, smiled broadly and clapped along with spectators as she was sworn in before the Congress. More than 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty during Lula's eight years in office, thanks largely to his social welfare policies and stable economic management that made Brazil a darling among Wall Street investors. The coming decade also looks bright, with massive, newly discovered offshore oil reserves due to be exploited and the World Cup and Olympics to be hosted here. Yet, Rousseff also faces a long list of daunting challenges that Lula failed to tackle, including an overvalued currency that is hurting industry, rampant public spending that is fueling inflation, and notorious bureaucracy that stifles investment and discourages innovation. Perhaps the biggest task will be living up to the example set by Lula, a former metalworkers' union leader who leaves office with an approval rating of 87 per cent and near folk-hero status, especially among the poor. New PM appointed in Jordan following protests On January 31, 2011, Marouf Bakhit was appointed as the Prime Minister of Jordan by King Abdullah. The move came following protests inspired by mass demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, but the opposition dismissed the move as insufficient. The earlier Prime Minister Samir Rifal was criticized for following a pro-Western reforms agenda. His opponents sought to reverse free market reforms they say have cut State support for East Bank Jordinians, the original inhabitants of the country who depend on government support more than Jordinains of Palestinian origins. UN ends Peace Mission in Nepal On January 15, 2011, the UN ended its peace mission as the government and the main Opposition Maoists inked a crucial eleventh-hour deal to monitor fragile peace process. The UN mission was tasked to supervise the arms and the army of the former rebels and the military. The UNMIN closure, however, makes the fate of the 19,000 Maoist combatants confined in the cantonments uncertain, as there is no clear road-map regarding the future monitoring, integration and rehabilitation of the former combatants. The government said a special committee comprising representatives from the main political parties would monitor the ex-guerrillas, which the Maoists do not agree to. Governor of Punjab province of Pakistan assassinated for supporting a woman convicted under blasphemy law The assassination of former Governor of Punjab province of Pakistan, Salmaan Taseer, on January 4, 2011, once again drew attention to Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws, which have been at the center of debate of late. Religious parties have been able to force Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to step back from the government's earlier stance of changing these laws Taseer's killing due to his support for a woman convicted under the blasphemy law is yet another addition to the list of those killed as a direct or indirect consequence of this legislation. Threats were made, and protests held against Taseer after he visited Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman awarded the death sentence for committing blasphemy, and expressed his support for her. According to data compiled by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, a local NGO, extra-judicial killings of those accused under the country's blasphemy laws started in 1990, but the laws were in place since 1980, instituted by military strongman General Zia Ul Haq. South Sudan says “Yes” to secession South Sudan has overwhelmingly voted to split from the north in a referendum intended to end decades of civil war, as per the result declared on January 30, 2011. Thousands cheered, danced and ululated after officials said 99.57 per cent of voters from the south’s 10 States chose to secede. The vote was promised in a 2005 peace-deal which ended decades of north-south conflict, Africa’s longest civil war which cost an estimated 2 million lives. Kiir, the head of the former southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), praised his former civil war foe, Sudan’s overall president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for agreeing to the 2005 accord. According to the terms of the accord, south Sudan will be able to declare independence on July 9, 2011, pending any legal challenges to the results. Leaders from the SPLM and Bashir’s northern National Congress Party (NCP) still have to agree on a list of politically sensitive issues, including the position of their shared border, how they would split oil revenues after secession and the ownership of the disputed Abyei region. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised north and south Sudan for the peaceful vote but said he was concerned about the unresolved issues. Visit of Chinese President to USA President Hu Jintao of China visited USA in second week of January 2011 to narrow rifts between the world’s top two economies. This was the first visit of a Chinese President to USA in 13 years. The State-run Chinese media recorded the visit as a successful summit of equals. However, the pomp and rhetoric did little to resolve acrimony between the two countries over ‘US interference’ in South China Sea, US policies on Taiwan, the Dalai Lama, currency and trade differences. During the joint press conference President Jintao admitted that his country needed to do a lot more on human rights. The human rights were clearly the top concern of USA despite the economic ties between the two countries. President Jintao warned USA to keep away from Tibet or else bilateral ties will be greatly effected, a day after President Obama asked him to talk to representatives of the Dalai Lama to resolve the issue. Global Innovation Report, 2010 Innovation levels, as measured by patent volume, shifted across 12 major technology areas from 2009 to 2010, according to the second annual analysis of world patent activity published by the IP Solutions business of Thomson Reuters. The 2010 Innovation Report: Twelve Key Technology Areas and Their States of Innovation tracks patent activity in key technology areas using the Thomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index® (DWPISM) database, the world's most trusted source of patent information. Key findings between 2009 and 2010 innovation data include: Aerospace technology area blasts into a new orbit: In addition to increasing overall activity by 25% year over year, the largest aerospace sub-sector increase from 2009 to 2010 occurred in the field of Space Vehicles and Satellite Technology, which jumped up 108%. The three companies in this area were Japanese manufacturer Sharp, followed by Korean manufacturers LG and Samsung. Semiconductor innovation short circuits: The Semiconductor technology area saw the largest drop in innovation activity across the 12 areas tracked, falling 9% last year. The drop was driven by sub-sector declines in Integrated Circuits; Discrete Devices; and Memories, Film & Hybrid Circuits. The one Semiconductor sub-sector showing growth in 2010 was Materials and Processes. The innovators with the most patent activity in this sub-sector were Korean manufacturers Samsung and Hynix Semiconductor, followed by Japan's Toshiba. Computers & Peripherals tops the list of the most innovative technology areas with the highest volume of patent activity for second consecutive year, despite an overall decline from 2009: The Computers & Peripherals technology area published 212,622 unique inventions in 2010, earning it the top slot among the 12 areas in the analysis. However, this is a 6% decline from the level seen in 2009. Muslim demographic peak over next 20 years The world's Muslim population will grow at double the rate of non-Muslims over the next 20 years, according to a broad new demographic analysis that is likely to spark controversy in the West. The Future of the Global Muslim Population may be the first to attempt to map the Muslim population of most of the world's countries. The analysis was conducted by two giant non-profit groups interested in religion: the Pew Research Center and the John Templeton Foundation. This is part of a larger project to map the population of all the world's religions. Among its other projections are: —Muslim populations in some parts of Europe will reach the double digits, with France and Belgium at 10.3 percent by 2030. —Pakistan will overtake Indonesia as the world's most populous Muslim nation.  —Muslim population growth and fertility rates will continue to decline. —India will remain home to the world's third largest Muslim population. —The number of US Muslims will more than double, from 2.6 million in 2010 to 6.2 million in 2030. The analysis could fuel critics of Islam in Europe and the United States, who argue that the religion is at odds with Western values and worry that the number of Muslim extremists is on the rise. Or it could calm those fears by providing evidence that Muslim populations in the West will remain relatively tiny. The study—which uses a dizzying mix of public and private data sources—makes it clear that even rapid growth among Muslims will not produce dramatic demographic shifts in most parts of the world. Eighty-two percent of the world's Muslims live in Asia, West Asia and North Africa, and that number is projected to be around 79 percent in 2030. According to the study's projections, Muslims make up 23.4 percent of the world's population of 6.9 billion; in 2030, that percentage will be 26.4. Europe is home to 2.7 percent of the world's Muslims, a percentage that is predicted to remain stable. Business News The NASDAQ-listed iGate has sealed the deal to buy Patni Computers, India’s seventh largest IT services firm, to create a $1-billion entity Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee retailer, has entered into an agreement with Tata Coffee for a strategic alliance in India. Under the non-binding MoU between the two, Starbucks will set up stores in the Tata group’s retail outlets and hotels and source roast coffee beans from Tata Coffee’s Kodagu facility. Infrastructure, Leasing & Finance Services (IL&FS) will be the new promoter of Maytas Properties, the cash-strapped company owned by family members of disgraced Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has done away with the dual helmsman-ship model and appointed T.K. Kurien as Wipro’s new CEO. Google Inc co-founder Larry Page has taken over as CEO from Eric Schmidt. Page’s assumption of day-to-day operations marks a return to Google’s technological roots, 13 years after he and fellow Stanford University student Sergy Brin founded what has become the world’s number one internet search engine. Mahindra & Mahindra, the market leader in utility vehicles, has launched a pick-up vehicle based on the Xylo model. The vehicle has been named Genio. The Aditya Birla group has bought the $1-billion revenue earning US firm Colombian Chemicals for $875 million, catapulting the group to become the world leader in carbon black, from its number four position that it held before the acquisition. Opening another chapter in aviation history, G.R. Gopinath, known as the pioneer of low-cost carriers in India, has had his Deccan Charters Ltd join hands with Taj Air, the executive charter service of Indian Hotels Company Ltd and with Business Jets India Pvt Ltd, to launch Powerfly, an alliance in the air charter industry. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has entered into luxury sedan segment with launch of its carKizashi. ICICI Bank has entered into an agreement with Indian Army for extending modern banking products to the personnel in uniform. DO YOU KNOW Per capita income of Indians grew by 14.5 per cent to Rs 46,492 in 2009-10, from Rs 40,605 in 2008-09. The new per capita income figure estimates on current market prices is over Rs 2,000 more than the previous estimate of Rs 44,345 calculated by the Central Statistical Organisation. Per capita income means earnings of each Indian if the national income is evenly divided among the country's population at 117 crore (1.17 billion). Per capita income (at 2004-05 prices) stood at Rs 33,731 in FY10 against Rs 31,801 in the previous year. The size of the economy at current prices rose to Rs 61,33,230 crore (Rs 61,332.30 billion) in 2009-10, up 16.1 per cent over Rs 52,82,086 crore (Rs 52,820.86 billion) in FY'09. Based on 2004-05 prices, the Indian economy expanded by 8 per cent during the fiscal ended March 2010. This is higher than 6.8 per cent growth in fiscal 2008-09. The gross domestic product (GDP), or gross domestic income (GDI), is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time. The idea of gross domestic product came into existence after the Great Depression and World War II. GDP was first developed by Simon Kuznets for a United States Congress report in 1934. His idea was to calculate all economic production by individuals, companies and the government in a single measure. According to him, GDP would rise in good times and fall during any crisis. In 1944, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund accepted GDP as a method to assess a nation's economy. The 98th Indian Science Congress was held at SRM University near Chennai. While 2010 was observed as the International Year of Biodiversity, from 2011 starts the Decade of Biodiversity. During the decade, a UN body, much like the IPCC for Climate Change, is expected to push for action on biodiversity front. The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge in China is the world’s longest sea bridge. It is 42.48 km long, 8.04 km further than the distance between Dover and Calais, as also longer than a marathon. The bridge links the main urban area of Qingdao city in east China’s Shandong province with Huangdao district. January 14, 2011 marked the 250th anniversary of the third battle of Panipat. The defeat of the Marathas by the army of Ahmad Shah Abdali prepared the ground for the gradual take-over of India by the East India company. Army Day is observed in India on January 15. The World Bank has offered to India a loan of $1.5 billion (about Rs 6,800 crore) for building 24,000km of all-weather roads in the rural seven economically poor and hilly areas States—Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Punjab and any other State which may join at alter date over the next five-year period. On January 17, 2011, Indian Navy commissioned a squadron of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), named INAS 343, at Porbander, Gujarat, to enhance coastal surveillance capabilities. The UAVs have been nick-named “Frontier Formidables”. The world’s highest restaurant is located on the 122nd floor of the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa. It is called At.mosphere. The restaurant is 92 meter taller than the world’s second highest eatery, the revolving 360 Restaurant in Toronto’s CN Tower. Rural roads account for about 61% of India’s road length. National Highways comprise less than 2 per cent of the road network, but carry 40 per cent of road-based traffic. RBI has decided to circulate Rs 5 coins to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President. Objective Anti-Leprosy Day is observed in India on January 30.

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railway budget 2011: list of new trains and schedule

New Trains Proposed in Railway Budget 2011

Nine New Duranto Trains: Allahabad-Mumbai AC Duronto (bi-weekly), Pune-Ahmedabad AC Duronto (tri-weekly), Sealdah-Puri non AC Duronto (tri-weekly), Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam AC Duronto (tri-weekly), Madurai-Chennai AC Duronto (bi-weekly), Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram AC Duronto (bi-weekly), Mumbai Central-New Delhi AC Duronto (bi-weekly), Nizamuddin-Ajmer non-AC Duronto (bi-weekly), Shalimar-Patna Duronto (tri-weekly)

The frequency of following Duronto Trains have been increased: Mumbai CST-Howrah Duronto Express from 2 days to 4 days, Mumbai-Ahmedabad Duronto Express from 3 days to daily, Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto Express from 2 days to 5 days, Nagpur-Mumbai CST Duronto Express from 3 days to daily, Howrah-Yesvantpur Duronto Express from 4 days to 5 days

Double-decker AC Trains: Jaipur-Delhi, Ahmedabad-Mumbai

Three New Shatabdi Exp: Pune-Secunderabad, Jaipur-Agra and Ludhiana-Delhi.

New series of Kavi Guru Express & Vivek Express Trains to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore & Swami Vivekananda

Kavi Guru Express: Howrah-Azimganj Express (daily), Guwahati-Jaipur Express (weekly), Howrah-Bolpur Express (daily), Howrah-Porbander Express (weekly)

Vivek Express: Dibrugarh-Thiruvananthapuram-Kanniyakumari Express (weekly), Dwarka-Tuticorin Express (weekly), Howrah-Mangalore Express (weekly), Bandra(T)-Jammu Tawi Express (weekly)


Rajya Rani Express to connect state capitals with important cities of those states

Sawantwadi Road-Mumbai Express (daily), Saharsa-Patna Intercity Express (daily), Meerut-Lucknow Intercity Express (daily), Mysore-Bangalore Express (daily), Damoh-Bhopal Intercity Express (daily), Silghat-Dhubri Intercity Express (tri-weekly via Guwahati-Kokrajhar-Jogighopa), Bankura-Howrah Express (tri-weekly), Nilambur Road-Thiruvananthapuram Link Express (daily), Jharsuguda-Bhubaneswar Express (tri-weekly) , Manmad-Mumbai Express (daily) via Nasik

Special Tourist Trains Janam Bhoomi Gaurav:

Howrah-Bolpur-Rajgir (Nalanda)-Pataliputra (Patna)-Varanasi (Sarnath)-Gaya-Howrah

Bangalore-Mysore-Hassan (Space Facility, Belur, Halebid, Shravanbengola)-Hubli-Gadag(Hampi)-Bijapur (Gole Gumbaz)-Bangalore

Chennai-Puduchcheri-Tiruchichirappali-Madurai-Kanniyakumari-Thiruvananthpuram-Ernakulam-Chennai

Mumbai-Ahmedabad-(Lothal)-Bhavnagar (Palitana)-(Alang)-Gir-Diu (Somnath-Veraval)-(Junagarh)-Rajkot-Mumbai

56 New Express Trains: Raebareli-Jaunpur Express (daily), Tirupati-Amravati Express (bi-weekly),Asansol-Gorakhpur Express (weekly), Nagpur-Kolhapur Express (bi-weekly, Malda Town-Digha Express (weekly), Pune-Nanded Express (weekly), Visakhapatnam-Koraput Intercity Express (5 days a week), Howrah-Secunderabad Express (weekly), Mumbai-Chandigarh Express (weekly), Bardhaman-Rampurhat Express (tri-weekly), Bikaner-Delhi Superfast Intercity (daily), Hyderabad-Darbhanga Express (weekly), Howrah-Tirupati Express (weekly), Narsapur-Nagarsol Express (bi-weekly), Puri-Shalimar Express (weekly), Ranchi-Pune Express (bi-weekly), Shalimar-Udaipur Express (weekly), Chennai-Shirdi Express (weekly), Coimbatore-Tuticorin Link Express (daily), Howrah-Mysore Express (weekly), Yesvantpur-Mysore Express (daily), Digha-Visakhapatnam Express (weekly), Mysore-Chennai Express (weekly), Ahmedabad-Yesvantpur AC Express (weekly), Bhavnagar-Kochuvelli Express (weekly), Gorakhpur-Yesvantpur Express (weekly), Bhuj-Dadar Express (bi-weekly), Kolkata-Ajmer Express (weekly), Jabalpur-Indore Intercity Express (tri-weekly), Porbander-Kochuveli Express (weekly),Kolkata-Agra Express (weekly), Lucknow-Bhopal Express (weekly), Varanasi-Singrauli Intercity Express (daily), Nagpur-Bhusawal Express (tri-weekly), Puri-Gandhidham Express (weekly), Howarh-Visakhapatnam Express (weekly), Guwahati-Dimapur Express (daily), Howrah-Darbhanga Express (weekly), Vasco-Velankani Express (weekly), Bilaspur-Ernakulam Superfast (weekly), Digha-Puri Express (weekly), Jodhpur-Delhi Express (bi-weekly), Kharagpur-Viluppuram Express (weekly), Udaipur-Bandra (T) Express (tri-weekly), Purulia-Viluppuram Express (weekly), Asansol-Gonda Express (weekly), Delhi-Puducherry Express (weekly), Asansol-Tatanagar Express (tri-weekly), Indore-Kota Intercity Express (daily), Bhagalpur-Ajmer Express (weekly), Howrah-Jaisalmer Express (weekly), Ernakulam-Bangalore Express (weekly), Mangalore-Palghat Intercity Express (daily), Varanasi-Ahmedabad Express (weekly), Howrah-Nanded Express (weekly), Hardwar-Ramnagar Link Express (tri-weekly)

Passenger services: Delhi- Garhi Harsaru-Farukhnagar Passenger (daily), Kendujhargarh- Bhubaneswar Fast Passenger ( 5 days a week), Koraput- Bolangir-Sambalpur Passenger (daily), Barkakhana- Dehri-on-Sone Passenger(daily), Jodhpur- Hissar Fast Passenger (daily), Tirupati- Guntakal Passenger (daily), Coimbatore- Mettupalayam Passenger (6 days a week), Bhuj- Palanpur Passenger (daily), Silghat- Chaparmukh Passenger (daily), Siliguri-Dinhata Passenger (daily), Abohar - Fazilka passenger (daily) , Bilaspur-Katni Passenger (daily), Raipur - Korba Passenger (daily)

DEMU Trains: Gondia –Ballarshah, Vasai road-Diva, Ratlam-Neemuch, Ratlam-Chittaurgarh, Sealdah – Jangipur, Ahmedabad-Patan, Bangalore Cantt-Bangarpet, Dharmapuri-Bangalore, Marikuppam-Bangarpet, New Jalpaiguri-Balurghat, Falaknuma-Medchhal, Mriyalguda-Nadikudi, Kacheguda-Raichur, Raichur-Gadwal, Radhikapur- New Jalpaiguri, Jalna-Nagarsol, Nizamabad-Secunderabad, Kacheguda-Mriyalguda, Baripada-Bangariposi, Sealdah - Bhagwangola – Lalgola, Kolar-Bangalore, Krishnanagar - Behrampore Court

MEMU Trains: Ranchi-Asansol, Ernakulam - Kollam (via Alappuzha), Vasai Road-Panvel, Bangarpet –Koppam, Falaknuma-Bhongir, Midnapore – Jhargram, Kollam – Nagercoil, Jhargram-Purulia

Extension of Trains: Chhindwara-Gwalior Express to Delhi, Jhansi-Chhindwara Express to Delhi, Udaipur-Gwalior Express to Khajuraho, Solapur- Gadag Express to Hubli, Jabalpur-Nagpur Express to Amravati, Nizamuddin- Bapudham Motihari Express to Muzaffarpur, Jammu Tawi-Sonpur Express to Muzaffarpur, Lucknow- Allahabad Express to Vindhyachal, Chandigarh- Jaipur Garib Rath Express to Ajmer, Indore-Ajmer Express to Jaipur, Lucknow- Saharanpur Express to Chandigarh, Chennai Egmore -Nagore Express to Karaikal, Visakhapatnam-Nizamabad Express to Nanded, Sambalpur- Nizamabad Express to Nanded, Mysore- Shimoga Town Express to Talguppa, Valsad- Vadodara Express to Dahod Surat- Bhavnagar Express to Mahuva, Sultanpur - Ajmer Express to Ahmedabad, Ajmer-Kishanganj Express to New Jalpaiguri, Mumbai-Allahabad Express to Faizabad, Yesvantapur-Mangalore Express to Karwar, Saharanpur- Delhi to Farukh Nagar, Lucknow - Bhopal Express to Pratapgarh, Delhi- Shahjahanpur Passenger to Sitapur Cantt, Moradabad- Chandausi Passenger to Bareilly, Hajipur- Phulwaria Passenger to Bathua Bazar, Hajipur- Thawe Passenger to Kaptanganj, Nagercoil- Thiruvanthapuram Passenger to Kochuvelli, Hyderabad- Wadi Passenger to Gulbarga, Hubli- Bijapur Passenger to Solapur, Nagda- Kota Passenger to Ratlam, Ambala - Una DEMU to Amb Andaura

Increase in Frequency of Trains

New Delhi-Ajmer Shatabdi Express from 6 days to daily, Nagpur- Ahmedabad Express from weekly to bi-weekly, Nizamuddin -Dehradun AC Express from 6 days to daily, Secunderabad -Bikaner Express from weekly to bi-weekly, New Delhi- Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express from 6 days to daily, Jaipur- Pune Express from weekly to bi-weekly, Rourkela- Bhubaneswar Express from 6 days to daily, Bangalore- Hubli Jan Shatabdi Express from 6 days to daily, Habibganj- Jabalpur Jan Shatabdi Express from 6 days to daily, Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Udaipur Chetak Express from 4 days to daily, Indore- Udaipur Express from 3 days to daily, Rajkot- Porbander Express from 3 days to daily, Mumbai CST- Mangalore Express from 3 days to daily, Chennai-Tiruchendur Express from weekly to daily, Surat- Amravati Fast Passenger from 2 days to 3 days, Thiruchchirappalli- Karur Passenger from 6 days to daily, Shoranur- Eranakulam Passenger from 6 days to daily, Ambala - Amritsar DEMU to Kurukshetra

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budget 2011: what is the expectation from investors.

After the steep fall in the indices last month due to macroeconomic concerns, the stock markets are looking forward to the forthcoming Union Budget as an event that could fix some of their troubles. The markets will look up to the Finance Minister to mitigate some of the macroeconomic problems affecting the country at this juncture. India was one of the first countries to implement the stimulus programmes to pull the economy out of recession. 

As a corollary, India is again one of the first countries to face the problem of inflation that comes with a high growth rate and high liquidity. The challenge the Finance Minister now faces is how to control inflation without affecting growth. Investors expect three major things from the budget - controlling inflation , controlling fiscal deficit and investments in infrastructure. 

Inflation 

From the second half of 2010, the inflation rate has been a major issue in India. Inflation reached uncontrollable levels in the second half of 2010, not due to the stimulus alone. Rising commodity prices due to supply side constraints was also a major contributor. Globally, prices of commodities rose whether it was metals or agri commodities like coffee, sugar and cotton. This led to the rise in food inflation. 

Investors will appreciate the Budget if the Finance Minister addresses some the bottlenecks that constrain supply of agro commodities. The main problem that the agri commodities sector faces is logistics. Lack of proper roads for fast and easy transportation of perishable goods, and good quality cold storage chains are the bottlenecks that have to be removed immediately. Allowing large investments in this sector will transform it, leading to efficient use of resources and minimising wastages. 

Infrastructure 

This government wants the country to grow at double-digit rate but is providing infrastructure that is bursting at the seams today. Be it traffic jams inside any large city in the country or near collision of planes at airports, the capacity of all types of infrastructure is constrained. This is not due to lack of allocation or lack of financial commitment but due to lack of execution. Operational level difficulties are faced in obtaining several clearances for land, environment etc causing further delay in project execution, and cost over-run. 

Currently, infrastructure sector faces issues like higher commodity prices and higher cost of funds. India desperately requires large capacity additions in roads that can transport higher capacities, and more investments in power. Hence, investors are expecting a renewed emphasis on execution of existing projects and further enhancing public-private partnership projects that help in cost mitigation 

Fiscal deficit 

The lack of control over the fiscal deficit is said to be of the major reasons for foreign institutional investors (FIIs) withdrawing their investments this year. As there is no sale of assets planned for this year, investors fear there is a risk of slippage and an unexpected rise in the deficit. The main direction for fiscal deficit was set at the last Budget by the 13th Finance Commission . 

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sensex may reach 22500 on 2012 march

In an interview with ET, Suresh Mahadevan , MD, Head-India Equities, UBS Securities , 
shares his views on budget expectations, market outlook and discusses his favorite stocks . Edited excerpts: 


Indian markets have recovered about 6% from the recent low, what is your sense, is the worst of the fall now behind us? 


It is difficult to say that. There are a lot of risks around obviously, still news flow coming up from 2G scam. Of course there is a big event, the budget which everybody is closely watching. Earnings numbers may come down a little bit more if you look at the street, it is still around 20% growth, maybe mid to high teens is a more healthier number given the economy clearly may slow down, just a little bit, not a low, the growth may slow down a little bit. So yes, can the markets go lower in the short term, yes, they can and if they go lower, that will be an even better buying opportunity. Selectively, it is time to buy stocks now and can you rule out any further weakness unlikely and if you think about the flows that have come in last year, India has been a reasonably crowded trade and some of the nervous investors may sell into any news flow which is negative etc. So you cannot rule out any downside in the short term. 


So how would you describe this pickup that we have seen, is it just a technical pullback because fundamentally on ground, nothing has changed? 


Technically certainly, markets do not go up to that extent, it is a good bounce but also other thing is some of the issues may get clearer, the government now agreeing for a JPC. That clears a lot of the air perhaps. So at the margin it may be small news like this which could tip things but clearly the thing I am worried about is oil prices, No. 1, budget how good it is etc. I know the expectations are pretty low. So may not be such a big event but it is still something worth watching and of course thirdly, the earnings momentum, we might lose a little bit of earnings momentum for FY12 earnings. So those are the three things are some of the downside risks to the market. 


Last year Indian markets got re-rated post budget because the fiscal deficit was looking decent, the Finance Minister had 2 words, disinvestment and then 3G. For the coming year, what to your mind could be the joker in the pack? 


The foreign investor wish list is pretty clear and obviously. To start with, they are looking at fiscal discipline and even on paper whatever fiscal discipline the Finance Minister shows is pretty important. So that is No. 1 and you are absolutely right. With the 3G and wireless broadband revenues not there, how is the budget going to look. So it will require a lot of prudence on the non-planned expenditure. So that is No. 1. Second thing foreign investors really want is, there is a feeling that the reforms have slowed down significantly in the last 12 months, particularly things like infrastructure where a lot was promised, very little was delivered and also lot of these things, we keep talking about GST, we keep talking about Direct Tax Code, we keep talking about easing the FDI procedures but very little has been done. Maybe a clearer roadmap will help in the budget and thirdly, in the budget what people are looking at is, everyone knows that with the state elections, there has to be doses of populism whether it takes the form of NREGA allocations or subsidies or otherwise but at the same time, what progress on certain other reforms we are making whether it is the FDI on retail, FDI on insurance etc. So those are the things the foreign investors are looking at and I am sure the government is smart enough to tick some of the boxes. The budget in the end will be mixed and it will have something for everybody. So that is my sense, sitting in late February and trying to figure out what the budget is going to depict. So that is my sense. 

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google changes CEO,

SAN FRANCISCO: Google made the biggest management shake-up in a decade on Thursday, handing the reins of the company to one of its co-founders in an effort to rediscover its start-up roots.

As it has grown into the dominant company in Silicon Valley, Google has lost some of its entrepreneurial culture and become a slower-moving bureaucracy, analysts and insiders say, in contrast to Facebook , Twitter and other younger , more agile competitors.

To counter this, Google announced that Larry Page, its 38-year-old co-founder , would take over as CEO from Eric E Schmidt, a technology industry veteran who was brought in a decade ago to provide adult supervision, as Silicon Valley calls it.

Schmidt, 55, will remain executive chairman of the company, which had a market value of $200 billion at the close of trading on Thursday, up from $27 billion when it went public in 2004. "One of the primary goals I have is to get Google to be a big company that has nimbleness and soul and passion and speed of a start-up ," said Page.

The shake-up comes at a time of major upheaval in Silicon Valley. The company, and the search industry, face challenges on several fronts. Google remains immensely powerful and successful—as demonstrated by the stellar quarterly financial results it reported Thursday. But the sudden rise of Facebook has exposed Google's failures in some areas.

sources : times of india

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