Beef Vindaloo

While the Bombay Stock Exchange’s recent slump has left investors and companies nervously chewing their fingernails, a new breed of entrepreneurs has cropped up that is taking advantage of the recent situation. Hordes of small-time businessmen from Goa have started trooping to Dalal Street in what is fast becoming the success story of the year. Feni manufacturers and distributors have set up stalls and outlets across the Stock Market district encouraging brokers and dealers to drown their sorrow in a peg. A classic example of filling a need in the market.

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China announced various caveats to their “Right to Strike” rule, which was announced late last night. According to the Chinese government, they want to make sure that this newly declared right is not abused. While the government maintains that the workers would able to go on strike if they have good reason, they would have to outsource the actual strike efforts to neighbouring India so as not to hamper the production process. China believes that India has immense and ancient history in the strike and protest business and this new arrangement would be beneficial to everyone involved.

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Just when the country thought that they have seen everything where it comes to the outsourcing industry, a new shakeup is waiting at the door. This time, from one of the most unlikely sources - young women from several states in India are coming together to demand that their occupation be brought under the governing umbrella of the outsourcing industry. These women earn their living being surrogate mothers for couples both in the country and abroad. Now, they want the same kind of tax benefits accorded to the various BPO and KPO companies in the country.

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While it appears that the only people who believed in the success of the two-day India-Africa Summit were the leaders of the participating countries, several non-participants swear by the good that came out of it. Stand-up comedians say that they were glad that they managed to fit the conference into their schedule. Their interest in the business discussions did not stem from deep-seated interests in Indo-African trade but lay in terms of content for their upcoming shows.

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Day One of summit between Indian and African leaders in New Delhi passed with mixed emotions. While journalists are snapping pictures of the smiling world leaders, their assistants are under backbreaking pressure to ensure that the right amount of money is shifting hands under the table. And behind the polished speeches, lay translators who are on the verge of nervous breakdowns given the plethora of indecipherable accents and official speak. A bleak picture behind the veneer of international business.

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If China was desperately seeking a light at the end of the tunnel as far as the Olympics Torch was concerned, they might have to wait a little longer. While threats from political leaders might not mean much, Zippo has officially cancelled their Olympic sponsorship making them the first company to pull out of the event due to the protests and controversies. Their problem is simple, the Olympic torch is a direct connect with their inextinguishable lighters and they feel that their brand image would suffer with the torch being continuously extinguished, especially with the events in Paris yesterday.

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Amidst the hype and hoopla surrounding luxury and super premium brands launching in India, one brand sits alone. The company is a small firm from Milan in Italy and unlike their rivals and competitors, they have resorted to the simple brand title of Eau de Toilette. As every international company would agree, the secret to success in India is identifying with the local needs and thereby localising your product. That is exactly what Eau de Toilette has done by marketing in India under the brand, Toilet Water.

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