Business Today

Vivek Bhalla, Regional Vice President (South west Asia), InterContinental Hotels Group, has spearheaded the group's strategic growth as well as the operational performance of 39 hotels across four brands. Last year, IHG launched 11 hotels in the regi

While big companies, typically listed at the bourses and actively followed by investors, lenders and myriad analysts, tend to hog the limelight in the business press, the small and medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an immensely important role in industr

Mukesh Kacholia was trading in chickpeas in 2004. But a government policy changed the fortunes of his company Shanti Overseas (India) in 2014, when Kacholia decided to switch to processed organic soyabean product exports. "It was all about timing. We

Small steps taken in a home garage laid the foundation for what is today India's biggest manufacturer of helmets. Studds Accessories owns two helmet plants with a capacity of 6.1 million helmets and 4.9 lakh units of two wheeler luggage a year. It is

In January 2009, Canadian equipment manufacturer Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in both Canada and the US. At the time, Nortel held a little less than 10 per cent stake in the Indian product engineering company Sasken Technologies, and was al

The over 63 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India are going through a period of churn. At one side, new technologies that include artificial intelligence, cloud computing, machine learning and internet of things have made it easier for

Chhattisgarh based Sri Sibarami, who runs a tea stall, took a Rs 50,000 loan under the Mudra scheme from Allahabad Bank five years ago. Sibarami used the money to upgrade his stall and start selling some snacks. The bank says Sibarami is a success st

Abdul Khalik Chataiwala, Chairman and Managing Director of Lancer Container Lines, decided to start a container logistics business in 2011, after more than a decade in international trade. "I had very close connections in logistics business and hands

Soon after the global dotcom bust in 2000, three childhood friends Siddharth Sethi, Mitesh Bohra and Avinash Sethi, in their mid twenties then decided to set up a software company in their hometown, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Unlike Bengaluru, Hyder

Auto parts maker Emdet Group, founded in 1959 by late Dev Mitter, had a 28 year long relationship with Oriental Bank of Commerce. But his grandson, and Executive Director of the company, Nishchay Mitter, switched to a private bank. "Despite a consist

This is the eighth edition of the Business Today Best SME Survey. The corporate sector has been hard hit due to the current slowdown in the economy; thus we decided to tweak the methodology to dig out the real gems within this space. The survey was c

Celebrities and movie stars have always led brand endorsements on print and television. But in a surprising turn of events, @jannat_zubair29, a social media influencer of TikTok fame, has been chosen to be featured in a TV commercial for the confecti

A young workforce and growing credit culture are shrinking households' financial savings. Be it credit cards, personal loans or buying a house or car, youngsters prefer taking debt. Banks, housing finance companies and NBFCs are happy to oblige. This

The Founders Deepanshu Manchanda (CEO) and Shruti Gochhwal (COO). During his MBA days, Manchanda worked as a salesperson for an FMCG brand and later joined the e wallet start up MobiKwik where Gochhwal was a colleague. Both were keen to explore the F

"Is Rana Kapoor still part of the bank?," an analyst asked Ravneet Singh Gill, the MD & CEO, who succeeded Kapoor at the troubled Yes Bank five months ago. The query, during a call with investors last month, was triggered by reports that the founder

It was exactly 12 months ago when sale of automobiles in India in general and passenger vehicles in particular, began to feel the pinch of the economic slowdown that has gripped the country so viciously. The initial ominous signs came in the first we

In November 2018, the Jammu & Kashmir state administrative council (SAC) approved an alteration to the J&K Gas Pipeline Act, 2014. The council could do that since J&K was under President's rule then. This allowed pipeline construction companies the r

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL) has been on a spending spree over the last five years. It built telecom giant Reliance Jio and expanded the petrochemicals business by constructing the world's largest refinery off gas cracker (RO

One of the floors of GoWork's co working facility in Gurgaon's Udyog Vihar has sleeping pods private rooms with air conditioners, televisions, music systems, and lockers inside. A 'frustration zone' is in the works too. "Millennials take too much s

Punit Goenka, the 43 year old Managing Director and CEO of Zee Entertainment, is fondly called 'Mr Positive' by his colleagues. Goenka has lived up to his positive and calm image even during the toughest phase of his professional life when the compan

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has made a grim observation in its latest report on indirect taxes: "The growth of indirect taxes slowed to 5.80 per cent in 2017/18 compared to a growth of 21.33 per cent in 2016/17." Without mincin

You cannot do without a powerful home theatre nowadays if you are addicted to the endless high resolution content streamed by OTT players. The options: Either invest in a 4K TV or go for a movie grade projector like the W1700M from BenQ. In spite of

The popularity of Apple AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds has paved the way for a new category Bluetooth earbuds with a charging case. The latest in this line, from the German car audio manufacturer, is not very impressive, though. The charging cum c

They are all over the place on smart speakers, smartphones and synced with a lot many smart appliances. They can talk to us, fetch us information and carry out tasks as bidden. They are the voice controlled virtual assistants, which are steadily gr

As July faded into August, India Inc. abruptly moved its subject of heated discussion away from CCD to CSR. While Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), whose founder had committed suicide, was crashing on the bourses, the Companies (Amendment) Bill was passed in Pa

India's plan to set up a Mumbai Pune Hyperloop stretch and slash the four hour road trip to 35 odd minutes is now a step closer to reality. The Maharashtra government recently gave it the status of a public infrastructure project and paved the path f