The Uttar Pradesh government today moved the Supreme Court challenging advisory board's decision of revoking charges against BJP leader Varun Gandhi under the stringent NSA for his alleged hate speeches.
The advisory board on May 8 held that it neither found "plausible and convincing" grounds for the National Security Act being invoked against Varun nor was it satisfied by the explanation given by the Pilibhit District Magistrate.
29-year-old Varun, who is BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit, is currently on parole following a Supreme Court order after remaining in jail for nearly three weeks.
He was released from Etah jail on April 16. His parole expires on May 14. Varun was let off by a three-member Advisory board headed by senior judge of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court Justice Pradeep Kant which went into the maintainability of Varun's detention by the UP government under the NSA imposed on March 29.
The Uttar Pradesh government today moved the Supreme Court challenging advisory board's decision of revoking charges against BJP leader Varun Gandhi under the stringent NSA for his alleged hate speeches.
The advisory board on May 8 held that it neither found "plausible and convincing" grounds for the National Security Act being invoked against Varun nor was it satisfied by the explanation given by the Pilibhit District Magistrate.
29-year-old Varun, who is BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit, is currently on parole following a Supreme Court order after remaining in jail for nearly three weeks.
He was released from Etah jail on April 16. His parole expires on May 14. Varun was let off by a three-member Advisory board headed by senior judge of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court Justice Pradeep Kant which went into the maintainability of Varun's detention by the UP government under the NSA imposed on March 29.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Microsoft may lay off more if warranted: Ballmer
Microsoft, which has announced laying off 5,000 employees including 55 in India, said on Tuesday it may look at more layoffs if the economic downturn dramatically worsens again.
"Presuming the economy hopefully stays as bad as it is and doesn't get dramatically worse, we will finish our plan, but if it gets dramatically worse again, we will look at things again," Microsoft Corporation CEO Steve Ballmer, told reporters in Mumbai.
The Redmond-based company had announced in January it would axe 5,000 jobs globally amid the ongoing slowdown.
It announced on Monday slashing one per cent of its 5,500-strong Indian workforce, amounting to 55 layoffs, in a bid to realign its business in the country.
It added that it would continue to hire and create employment opportunities in line with the recovery and growth of the Indian economy.
"We had said that we would lay-off about 5,000 people. We are still filling other jobs. We are mostly through that process globally and there is still some work to do," Ballmer said.
"There are areas where we are continuing to add people. As I said, these are global additions, so it is a little hard to separate our work globally from our work in India," he added.
Ballmer said Microsoft is the second largest foreign IT employer in India and he doesn't see a change in that.
In the second round of job cuts effected on May 5, the software major said it would lay off 3,000 employees. In January, Microsoft had laid off 1,350-1,400 people, largely in the US.
The Bill Gates-led firm said it would make strategic investments, which are best suited to the current economic environment.
Ballmer said Microsoft is the second largest foreign IT employer in India and he doesn't see a change in that.
In the second round of job cuts effected on May 5, the software major said it would lay off 3,000 employees. In January, Microsoft had laid off 1,350-1,400 people, largely in the US.
The Bill Gates-led firm said it would make strategic investments, which are best suited to the current economic environment.
"Presuming the economy hopefully stays as bad as it is and doesn't get dramatically worse, we will finish our plan, but if it gets dramatically worse again, we will look at things again," Microsoft Corporation CEO Steve Ballmer, told reporters in Mumbai.
The Redmond-based company had announced in January it would axe 5,000 jobs globally amid the ongoing slowdown.
It announced on Monday slashing one per cent of its 5,500-strong Indian workforce, amounting to 55 layoffs, in a bid to realign its business in the country.
It added that it would continue to hire and create employment opportunities in line with the recovery and growth of the Indian economy.
"We had said that we would lay-off about 5,000 people. We are still filling other jobs. We are mostly through that process globally and there is still some work to do," Ballmer said.
"There are areas where we are continuing to add people. As I said, these are global additions, so it is a little hard to separate our work globally from our work in India," he added.
Ballmer said Microsoft is the second largest foreign IT employer in India and he doesn't see a change in that.
In the second round of job cuts effected on May 5, the software major said it would lay off 3,000 employees. In January, Microsoft had laid off 1,350-1,400 people, largely in the US.
The Bill Gates-led firm said it would make strategic investments, which are best suited to the current economic environment.
Ballmer said Microsoft is the second largest foreign IT employer in India and he doesn't see a change in that.
In the second round of job cuts effected on May 5, the software major said it would lay off 3,000 employees. In January, Microsoft had laid off 1,350-1,400 people, largely in the US.
The Bill Gates-led firm said it would make strategic investments, which are best suited to the current economic environment.
Friday, May 8, 2009
vSphere 4: Forerunner to a Data Center Revolution?
"The cloud" is a term that serves as a catchall for a variety of technology offerings that have Internet hosting as their common bond. Yet these services come in an unlimited variety of shapes and sizes. As the cloud begins to take on a less-wispy form, its potential is becoming clear. VMware imagines that it might one day function as a robust, complex virtual data center, with its own OS at the center.
Cloud computing has been a central subject and strategy for IT vendors of every sort, but the actual meaning of "cloud" remains hazy.
For Web-based information aggregators like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) , the cloud offers a mechanism for delivering advertising-driven content and services.
For Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors, including Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) , cloud infrastructures offer a highly efficient platform for hosting business applications and processes.
For service providers, the cloud provides the means for supporting emerging and yet-to-be-defined business and consumer offerings.
If one assumes there to be some cloud commonality among IT vendors, one would be largely incorrect. Not surprisingly, many storage vendors see the cloud as a way of supporting storage/data-centric consumer and business services.
Multi-platform systems vendors tend to define at least part of their cloud value propositions according to the capabilities of proprietary server platforms.
However, there are some similarities in x86/64 server-based cloud-specific products, largely because those systems are capable of commonly leveraging technologies from virtualization vendors such as VMware (NYSE: VMW), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Citrix (Nasdaq: CTXS) .
This last point provides the context for VMware's vSphere 4, which is essentially designed to drive forward the company's cloud computing strategy.
Driving Force
VMware has a different cloud vision: Rather than seeing a mechanism for simply delivering new or emerging service offerings, VMware imagines the enterprise data center as a highly flexible, scalable and changeable environment in which virtualization plays the central role in aggregating, integrating, managing and provisioning enormous pools of processor, server, storage and networking assets.
The company's view of the cloud appears to have struck a chord among its server vendor partners, whose executives offered their support on video or in person at the recent vSphere launch event at VMware headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.
Cisco's (Nasdaq: CSCO) John Chambers, Dell's (Nasdaq: DELL) Michael Dell, EMC's (NYSE: EMC) Joe Tucci, HP's (NYSE: HPQ) James Munton and Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) Pat Gelsinger were palpably enthusiastic about vSphere, and with good reason. If the effort succeeds to the extent that VMware and others expect, it will provide the driving force behind next-generation data centers.
Why? Because vSphere 4 is not just about cloud computing. While x86/64-based solutions have led server volume sales for several years, their overall performance and utilization have tended to suffer in comparison to Unix and mainframe systems.
Virtualization has helped to correct the traditionally woeful system utilization of x86/64 servers. Indeed, without virtualization, x86/64-based technologies would not be sustainable data center solutions.
Ushering In a New Age
VMware produced some eye-opening vSphere performance metrics -- including sustained 300,000 IOPS and up to 9,000 transactions per second on single systems -- that suggest a fundamental shift in performance that will allow x86/64 systems to fully inhabit every corner of the enterprise.
This, combined with other new features, including VMware Fault Tolerance, makes the platform eminently suitable for supporting business-critical applications and what VMware CEO Paul Maritz calls the "Big Computer" and the "21st Century Mainframe."
In other words, VMware considers vSphere 4 the key to ushering in an age in which highly virtualized, highly integrated industry standard x86/64 systems take over the jobs currently held by legacy enterprise systems.
Is this scenario remotely possible? Perhaps so. One could point to the emergence of x86/64 as the platform of choice in the vast majority of supercomputing installations -- a market once dominated by proprietary systems and technologies -- as an example of what is possible with innovative x86/64 development.
Is vSphere 4, then, poised to initiate the coming data center revolution?
Not quite. It is highly powerful and flexible, but VMware's new offering is a work in progress -- even though it is definitely several steps ahead of previous company offerings.
That said, if VMware delivers as promised on its product road map, vSphere 4 could become the platform to beat in x86/64 virtualization, and it will play an elemental role in how the company's customers and partners design, develop and deploy 21st century cloud computing data centers.
Gadgets on the Run: Keeping Tabs on Moving IT Assets
As enterprises deploy growing ranks of mobile, remote and telecommuting employees, keeping track of the many mobile devices they use has introduced new headaches for IT managers. Mobile asset management is a part of the larger IT asset management strategy and should not be viewed as a separate type of asset management program.
It's no secret that the business world is going mobile. Companies are beginning to move to a virtual environment -- especially sales teams who have to be on the road more often. The trend of telecommuting is also starting to catch on. With this in mind, IT managers are faced with a new headache: managing what they can't see. Companies are struggling to create and understand mobile IT strategy.
IT asset managers are faced with the challenge of managing mobile "moving assets" in a variety of scenarios including, but not limited to:
- geographically dispersed offices (including multi-national organizations)
- larger number of mobile devices than ever before
- growing trends toward telecommuting
- virtualization technologies and ASP (hosted) services
While mobile and remote workforces are nothing new, moving assets can cost companies millions (even billions) of dollars when not accounted for, and they can put organizations at even greater risk. While physical hardware usually has a shelf life of three to five years, mobile assets have a much shorter lifespan.
Special Attention
There are a number of activities that enterprise IT staffs need to pay special attention to if they want to effectively manage these moving assets:
- Define your mobile IT strategy. The tendency is to start with the technology and work backwards to try to solve the business problem. Accounting for mobile assets within your organization's regular ITAM (IT asset management) program should be the norm. However, mobile assets are likely the most difficult to track and manage, and -- most often -- the type of asset that is most often unaccounted for.
- Identify the right tool set for managing mobile IT. There are many solutions out there, from scanning tagged hardware to automating software asset management solutions. There are many options available, but finding the right one is imperative. Ideally, whatever type of solution you use, it would be best to integrate it with other systems, such as your financial systems, to provide better trend and cost analysis, geographic mapping and more robust reporting, as well as to enable better ROI (return on investment) tracking against monies spent. Some tools that are helpful for managing mobile assets:
- Automated Solutions. Like IT asset management, mobile asset management needs discovery and ongoing management. From tracking hardware -- such as PCs, Macs, laptops, PDAs, smart phones and many other moving assets -- to tracking the software and user license sitting within the hardware -- from MS Office Suite to Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE)
-- having an automated asset tracking system can eliminate costly and time-consuming site visits. In the case of moving assets, an automated ITAM tracking system with a discovery feature would be extremely useful for reporting enterprise software and hardware assets on each of the moving assets without doing a physical "roll call." - RFID. For the large enterprise, this can be extremely useful in tracking hardware -- from PDAs (personal data assistants) to laptops to servers. When the information from the barcode/scanning technology is integrated into the whole ITAM program, it can initially give you some powerful ROI.
- Automated Solutions. Like IT asset management, mobile asset management needs discovery and ongoing management. From tracking hardware -- such as PCs, Macs, laptops, PDAs, smart phones and many other moving assets -- to tracking the software and user license sitting within the hardware -- from MS Office Suite to Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE)
- Deal with leased and inactive mobile devices. How often do you realize that one of your employees has three BlackBerrys or two laptops? (Of course, he or she is only using one, while the other is propping the office door open). A simple solution is to run a quarterly report for missing leased equipment -- from laptops to mobile PDAs -- and review which computers have not connected to the network within 30 days or more. Assuming that you're following ITAM best practices, you'll be able to quickly find your missing and inactive items for redeployment within your organization or to retire the IT asset (instead of letting it become a dust catcher).
- Manage software licenses -- reduce cost and decrease your risk. Software licenses on mobile assets allow vendors to pull in millions of dollars during vendor audits. Software licenses are usually licensed by usage and tracked via discovery. Similar to mobile devices, unused licenses should also be taken into account via usage analysis. By proactively managing software licenses and usage on mobile assets, you can reduce risk and costs.
- Get in step with the greening of technology. While green technology does exist, it's in its infancy and it's expensive. However, IT disposal -- especially of mobile devices -- can be utilized for a company's green program (if one exists) or even for charitable donations (there are a lot of programs taking cell phones, laptops, PDAs and the like). Fundamentally, disposing of your mobile assets could be looked upon as a way of "doing good."
Bigger Picture
If nothing else, remember these three things:
- Effective management of mobile assets is a part of the larger IT asset management strategy and should not be viewed as a separate type of asset management program.
- One major advantage of proper management of mobile devices -- as well as fixed assets in general -- is the ability to show a quick return on investment in terms of dollars, savings and business gaps throughout the organization, especially with multi-location and multinational companies. This always scores points with the senior executives and may put some dollars back in the budget, as you can build a real case on savings with real dollars. Mobile devices certainly would account for a percentage of savings from retaining, recovering, deploying or retiring "moving" IT assets.
- Because mobile devices are not always top of mind with the IT folks or senior management and rarely (if ever) tracked properly, it's imperative to create policies and processes -- and enforce them.
Tata, SBI among world's most reputable firms
The Tata Group has been named the world's eleventh most reputed company, according to a study compiled by United States-based Reputation Institute.
Not just that, the Tata Group, whose Global Pulse Score was put at 80.89, has been ranked above global giants like Google, Microsoft, General Electric, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Intel, Univler, et cetera.
The Reputation Institute's Global Pulse is a measure of corporate reputation calculated by averaging perceptions of four main indicators -- trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling -- obtained from a representative sample of at least 100 respondents in the companies' home countries. The Global Pulse scores are on a scale of 0 to 100.
Tata Group is one of India's largest industrial conglomerates and runs more than 98 firms.
For the record, Italian confectioner Ferrero has been ranked the world's most reputable business entity.
Not just that, the Tata Group, whose Global Pulse Score was put at 80.89, has been ranked above global giants like Google, Microsoft, General Electric, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Intel, Univler, et cetera.
The Reputation Institute's Global Pulse is a measure of corporate reputation calculated by averaging perceptions of four main indicators -- trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling -- obtained from a representative sample of at least 100 respondents in the companies' home countries. The Global Pulse scores are on a scale of 0 to 100.
Tata Group is one of India's largest industrial conglomerates and runs more than 98 firms.
For the record, Italian confectioner Ferrero has been ranked the world's most reputable business entity.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Is Barack Obama right about Bangalore?
Before anyone in India gets hot under the collar about US President Barack Obama's tax proposals, because they might seem targeted at job creation in 'Bangalore,' it is important to understand what he is trying to do. For, on any rational basis, it is hard to be critical.
American companies that invest abroad have been tax-exempt on the profits from such businesses until they bring the profits back into the US; however, they have been allowed to claim a set-off on the expenses related to such investment.
This has been an open invitation to invest overseas and not in the home market, especially if the money is routed through tax havens so that the firms pay no tax on their profits anywhere. Mr Obama has called this a 'scam,' a term to which American businessmen have taken umbrage, but it is hard to think of it in any other terms.
The figures trotted out, showing that effective tax rates on such investments have been in the 2-3 percentage points range, support the president's drive to raise the effective level of tax on such corporate activity, at a time when he is running a gigantic deficit and needs money for other programmes.
American companies that invest abroad have been tax-exempt on the profits from such businesses until they bring the profits back into the US; however, they have been allowed to claim a set-off on the expenses related to such investment.
This has been an open invitation to invest overseas and not in the home market, especially if the money is routed through tax havens so that the firms pay no tax on their profits anywhere. Mr Obama has called this a 'scam,' a term to which American businessmen have taken umbrage, but it is hard to think of it in any other terms.
The figures trotted out, showing that effective tax rates on such investments have been in the 2-3 percentage points range, support the president's drive to raise the effective level of tax on such corporate activity, at a time when he is running a gigantic deficit and needs money for other programmes.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Dhoni to lead Team India in T20 World Cup
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead a 15-member Indian squad in the ICC Twenty20 World Championship in England next month.
Virender Sehwag has been named the vice captain for the series.
Apart from Dhoni and Sehwag, Paceman R P Singh was on Monday rewarded for his consistent performance in the ongoing IPL with a recall while fellow speedster Munaf Patel was dropped from India's 15-member squad for next month's Twenty20 World Cup in England .
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik , who figured in India's squad that played the last Twenty20 in New Zealand in February end, has also been dropped from the squad which has no major surprises. Hard-hitting batsman Robin Uthappa was also omitted.
India, who won the inaugural edition of the championship in South Africa in 2007, will be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni while Virender Sehwag has been named his deputy.
The squad includes five specialist batsmen, five specialist pacers, two spinners, two all-rounders and a wicket-keeper in Dhoni.
The selectors had earlier announced a list of 30 probables for the event, to be held in England from June 5 to 21, and today pruned it to the final 15. All participating teams have to submit the final squad by Tuesday as per the ICC rules.
As expected, there are no major surprises in the squad which was picked up by the selection panel, headed by former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth via teleconference.
Among others who could not make it to the final 15 are Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay, Mumbai trio of Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni and Abhishek Nayar , Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath, Delhi batsman Virat Kohli , Bengal duo of Manoj Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha, Haryana leggie Amit Mishra , Tamil Nadu pacer L Balaji and Madhya Pradesh stumper Naman Ojha.
Tamil Nadu off-spinner R Ashwin, who was named back-up for Harbhajan Singh , also failed to survive the pruning exercise.
Youngsters Abhishek Raut, who plays for Rajasthan Royals , and Bangalore's Shrivats Goswami also could not make the cut despite their decent showing in the Indian Premier League .
Joginder Sharma, who is remembered for his last over in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 World Cup, could not find a place in the 30-member list of probables, along with Piyush Chawla and S Sreesanth .
Sreesanth is recovering from a back injury and has not played competitive cricket for the last few months.
Sachin Tendulkar had opted out of the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and continues to remain away from the shortest format of the game despite his good form in recent time.
Squad: M S Dhoni (c), Virender Sehwag (v-c), Gautam Gambhir , Suresh Raina , Yuvraj Singh , Yusuf Pathan , Rohit Sharma , Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan , Ishant Sharma , Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Ravindra Jadeja , Pragyan Ojha and Irfan Pathan .
Virender Sehwag has been named the vice captain for the series.
Apart from Dhoni and Sehwag, Paceman R P Singh was on Monday rewarded for his consistent performance in the ongoing IPL with a recall while fellow speedster Munaf Patel was dropped from India's 15-member squad for next month's Twenty20 World Cup in England .
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik , who figured in India's squad that played the last Twenty20 in New Zealand in February end, has also been dropped from the squad which has no major surprises. Hard-hitting batsman Robin Uthappa was also omitted.
India, who won the inaugural edition of the championship in South Africa in 2007, will be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni while Virender Sehwag has been named his deputy.
The squad includes five specialist batsmen, five specialist pacers, two spinners, two all-rounders and a wicket-keeper in Dhoni.
The selectors had earlier announced a list of 30 probables for the event, to be held in England from June 5 to 21, and today pruned it to the final 15. All participating teams have to submit the final squad by Tuesday as per the ICC rules.
As expected, there are no major surprises in the squad which was picked up by the selection panel, headed by former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth via teleconference.
Among others who could not make it to the final 15 are Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay, Mumbai trio of Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni and Abhishek Nayar , Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath, Delhi batsman Virat Kohli , Bengal duo of Manoj Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha, Haryana leggie Amit Mishra , Tamil Nadu pacer L Balaji and Madhya Pradesh stumper Naman Ojha.
Tamil Nadu off-spinner R Ashwin, who was named back-up for Harbhajan Singh , also failed to survive the pruning exercise.
Youngsters Abhishek Raut, who plays for Rajasthan Royals , and Bangalore's Shrivats Goswami also could not make the cut despite their decent showing in the Indian Premier League .
Joginder Sharma, who is remembered for his last over in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 World Cup, could not find a place in the 30-member list of probables, along with Piyush Chawla and S Sreesanth .
Sreesanth is recovering from a back injury and has not played competitive cricket for the last few months.
Sachin Tendulkar had opted out of the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and continues to remain away from the shortest format of the game despite his good form in recent time.
Squad: M S Dhoni (c), Virender Sehwag (v-c), Gautam Gambhir , Suresh Raina , Yuvraj Singh , Yusuf Pathan , Rohit Sharma , Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan , Ishant Sharma , Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Ravindra Jadeja , Pragyan Ojha and Irfan Pathan .
Sunday, May 3, 2009
India orders 250,000 OLPC laptops
The '$10, world's cheapest laptop', developed in India has been given a quiet burial with the government placing an order for 250,000 XO laptops from the Nicholas Negroponte-led One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation.
The $10 'laptop' had turned into a major bone of contention with the global IT industry and experts blasting the device that was earlier projected as a challenger to the $100 laptop of the OLPC project.
Meanwhile, Satish Jha, OLPC India president and CEO, was quoted in the media as saying that the OLPC XO laptops "have been ordered for 1,500 schools (throughout the country) and the deliveries will begin in June."
Now lets have a look on the fake scheme of government ignoring the below key points:
This is one of the biggest fraud waiting to come.
1. Whats point in procuring laptop for schoolkids when p[rimary education DO NOT need any computer / laptop.
2. If at all laptops are baught, which operaing system it will work on? Who will pay license fee?
3. WHat applications will be there on laptop for use ? WHat value will they add ?
4. If procured, how distribution will take place? Why only 1500 schools, what about other thousands of schools?
5. We dont give funds for primary education to rural areas. Why waste funds for unnecessary laptops in urban areas?
This is just to eat commission. FRAUD. FRAUD. FRAUD. FRAUD.
The $10 'laptop' had turned into a major bone of contention with the global IT industry and experts blasting the device that was earlier projected as a challenger to the $100 laptop of the OLPC project.
Meanwhile, Satish Jha, OLPC India president and CEO, was quoted in the media as saying that the OLPC XO laptops "have been ordered for 1,500 schools (throughout the country) and the deliveries will begin in June."
Now lets have a look on the fake scheme of government ignoring the below key points:
This is one of the biggest fraud waiting to come.
1. Whats point in procuring laptop for schoolkids when p[rimary education DO NOT need any computer / laptop.
2. If at all laptops are baught, which operaing system it will work on? Who will pay license fee?
3. WHat applications will be there on laptop for use ? WHat value will they add ?
4. If procured, how distribution will take place? Why only 1500 schools, what about other thousands of schools?
5. We dont give funds for primary education to rural areas. Why waste funds for unnecessary laptops in urban areas?
This is just to eat commission. FRAUD. FRAUD. FRAUD. FRAUD.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Harshad Mehta's Reborn Version: Nirmal Kotecha and his Techniques
The man who follows Harshad Mehta's technique:Nirmal Kotecha
The son of an LIC agent who also ran a medical shop in Kochi, Nirmal Kotecha hasn't done too badly for himself. At 32, he is estimated to be worth about Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion).
His acquaintances have many adjectives for him: From 'genius' to a man wildly passionate about the stock markets to someone who was in a tearing hurry to make money etc.
Last week, he earned another sobriquet -- 'the mastermind and the main beneficiary of the Pyramid Saimira forgery'-- from the capital market regulator.
The April 23 order by the regulator said Kotecha had masterminded the forgery of a Securities and Exchange Board of India letter ordering directors of Pyramid, which runs a chain of theatres, to make an open offer to shareholders.
Since the forgery was aimed at manipulating the company's share price, Sebi barred 230 people and entities from trading.
The regulator also suspects that Kotecha used several front companies to trade in various stocks, and that there are indications of massive fund rotation among these front entities.
In a way, this wasn't a surprise. Kotecha has had the distinction of being on the Sebi's watch list on at least two other price manipulation cases -- Atlanta Ltd and SEL Manufacturing.
The modus operandus in both cases was similar to that of Pyramid: As Sebi discovered, Kotecha bought stakes in the companies at throwaway prices from the promoters, rigged the prices and then dumped the stock.
This may sound boringly familiar; many operators do just this frequently in the Indian stock markets, but Kotecha did it with finesse that would have made his self-confessed inspiration -- Harshad Mehta -- proud. He started investing in the market in 1993 at the age of 16, when Harshad Mehta's scam came to light and the young Kotecha was one of his ardent admirers.
By the time Mehta's cookie crumbled, Kotecha was deeply into investing and became a sub-broker at the Kochi Stock Exchange at the age of 18. Kotecha made his real big money during the technology boom in 2000.
He shifted to the Mumbai market soon after.
In the process, he opened many companies -- Skyz Financial Consultant and Kotecha Capital were just two of them.
As Sebi found, he was also using a large number of front accounts, including those of his relatives, to manipulate the securities market and to route the funds through several layers -- a reason the regulator has requested the Reserve Bank of India, Financial Intelligence Unit and the income tax department to look into possible money laundering.
All through, Kotecha seems to have used his early contacts with many promoters of small gems and jewellery companies well (he had invested in many of their IPOs as well). No wonder 43 of the 230 entities in the Sebi order belong to the gems and jewellery sector.
Though he has been known to be dealing in small IPOs to make mega bucks, many agree he perhaps went too far this time.
First, he forged a Sebi letter in which the regulator directed the promoters to make an open offer for Pyramid Saimira -- potential market-moving information.
Then he and his partners in the Pyramid case also planted a fake company secretary and gave this person's number to journalists who were sent the forged letter. When journalists called for confirmation, this person impersonating the company secretary claimed that Pyramid had indeed received such a letter from the regulator!
So when the Pyramid stock price surged after the forged letter became public, Kotecha went for the kill and reduced his holding from 24 per cent to just 0.24 per cent in just three months, making a massive profit.
Of late, Kotecha had shifted his attention to private equity too. For example, his PE firm Kotecha Capital picked up 49 per cent stake in the Bangalore-based US Pizza.
Although the exact valuation of the deal isn't known, media reports said Kotecha will invest over Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion), including debt, as the fast food chain plans to expand at a furious pace.
But many people say it would be a mistake to write off Kotecha. After all, Sebi's order is just an interim one and Kotecha will obviously challenge it. He was let off on two earlier occasions. Will it be third time lucky for the market player?
The son of an LIC agent who also ran a medical shop in Kochi, Nirmal Kotecha hasn't done too badly for himself. At 32, he is estimated to be worth about Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion).
His acquaintances have many adjectives for him: From 'genius' to a man wildly passionate about the stock markets to someone who was in a tearing hurry to make money etc.
Last week, he earned another sobriquet -- 'the mastermind and the main beneficiary of the Pyramid Saimira forgery'-- from the capital market regulator.
The April 23 order by the regulator said Kotecha had masterminded the forgery of a Securities and Exchange Board of India letter ordering directors of Pyramid, which runs a chain of theatres, to make an open offer to shareholders.
Since the forgery was aimed at manipulating the company's share price, Sebi barred 230 people and entities from trading.
The regulator also suspects that Kotecha used several front companies to trade in various stocks, and that there are indications of massive fund rotation among these front entities.
In a way, this wasn't a surprise. Kotecha has had the distinction of being on the Sebi's watch list on at least two other price manipulation cases -- Atlanta Ltd and SEL Manufacturing.
The modus operandus in both cases was similar to that of Pyramid: As Sebi discovered, Kotecha bought stakes in the companies at throwaway prices from the promoters, rigged the prices and then dumped the stock.
This may sound boringly familiar; many operators do just this frequently in the Indian stock markets, but Kotecha did it with finesse that would have made his self-confessed inspiration -- Harshad Mehta -- proud. He started investing in the market in 1993 at the age of 16, when Harshad Mehta's scam came to light and the young Kotecha was one of his ardent admirers.
By the time Mehta's cookie crumbled, Kotecha was deeply into investing and became a sub-broker at the Kochi Stock Exchange at the age of 18. Kotecha made his real big money during the technology boom in 2000.
He shifted to the Mumbai market soon after.
In the process, he opened many companies -- Skyz Financial Consultant and Kotecha Capital were just two of them.
As Sebi found, he was also using a large number of front accounts, including those of his relatives, to manipulate the securities market and to route the funds through several layers -- a reason the regulator has requested the Reserve Bank of India, Financial Intelligence Unit and the income tax department to look into possible money laundering.
All through, Kotecha seems to have used his early contacts with many promoters of small gems and jewellery companies well (he had invested in many of their IPOs as well). No wonder 43 of the 230 entities in the Sebi order belong to the gems and jewellery sector.
Though he has been known to be dealing in small IPOs to make mega bucks, many agree he perhaps went too far this time.
First, he forged a Sebi letter in which the regulator directed the promoters to make an open offer for Pyramid Saimira -- potential market-moving information.
Then he and his partners in the Pyramid case also planted a fake company secretary and gave this person's number to journalists who were sent the forged letter. When journalists called for confirmation, this person impersonating the company secretary claimed that Pyramid had indeed received such a letter from the regulator!
So when the Pyramid stock price surged after the forged letter became public, Kotecha went for the kill and reduced his holding from 24 per cent to just 0.24 per cent in just three months, making a massive profit.
Of late, Kotecha had shifted his attention to private equity too. For example, his PE firm Kotecha Capital picked up 49 per cent stake in the Bangalore-based US Pizza.
Although the exact valuation of the deal isn't known, media reports said Kotecha will invest over Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion), including debt, as the fast food chain plans to expand at a furious pace.
But many people say it would be a mistake to write off Kotecha. After all, Sebi's order is just an interim one and Kotecha will obviously challenge it. He was let off on two earlier occasions. Will it be third time lucky for the market player?
What is Swine FLU ?
Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu, and pig flu) refers to influenza caused by those strains of influenza virus that usually infect pigs and are called swine influenza virus (SIV). Swine influenza is common in pigs in the midwestern United States (and occasionally in other states), Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe (including the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Italy), Kenya, Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and other parts of eastern Asia.
Transmission of SIV from pigs to humans is not common. When it results in human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People who work with pigs, especially people with intense exposures, are at risk of catching swine flu. However, only about fifty such transmissions have been recorded since the mid-20th Century, when identification of influenza subtypes became possible. (Importantly, eating pork does not pose a risk of infection.) Rarely, these strains of swine flu can pass from human to human. In humans, the symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort.
The 2009 flu outbreak in humans that is widely known as "swine flu" is due to a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that was produced by reassortment from one strain of human influenza virus, one strain of avian influenza virus, and two separate strains of SIV. The origin of this new strain is unknown, and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs.[2] It passes with apparent ease from human to human, an ability attributed to an as-yet unidentified mutation.[3] This 2009 H1N1 strain causes the normal symptoms of influenza, such as fever, coughing and headache.
Transmission of SIV from pigs to humans is not common. When it results in human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People who work with pigs, especially people with intense exposures, are at risk of catching swine flu. However, only about fifty such transmissions have been recorded since the mid-20th Century, when identification of influenza subtypes became possible. (Importantly, eating pork does not pose a risk of infection.) Rarely, these strains of swine flu can pass from human to human. In humans, the symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort.
The 2009 flu outbreak in humans that is widely known as "swine flu" is due to a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that was produced by reassortment from one strain of human influenza virus, one strain of avian influenza virus, and two separate strains of SIV. The origin of this new strain is unknown, and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs.[2] It passes with apparent ease from human to human, an ability attributed to an as-yet unidentified mutation.[3] This 2009 H1N1 strain causes the normal symptoms of influenza, such as fever, coughing and headache.
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