At a time when consumer product categories have been under pressure, Gillette surprised the Street with a significant improvement in its profitability (net profit rose 31 per cent) in the first quarter of this financial year.

Gillette's cutting edge

Business Standard

&ldquo;Fasten your seat belts, put your seat backs in the upright position and enjoy this commercial break.&rdquo; Now you can see or hear an ad and sample a product from the comfort of your aircraft seat.

Ooh!

If pre-placement offers (PPOs) of last year were indicators of tough times lying ahead for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), this year they seem to bring good tidings. PPOs, which are placement offers made before the first day of placement in a campus, seem to be showing signs of resurgence in the economy as well.

Companies yet to warm up to IITs, while IIMs continue to witness buoyancy

When Ajay Gupta, promoter of Capital Foods, decided to sell instant noodles and soups under the brand name Ching&rsquo;s Secret, many thought he wouldn&rsquo;t be able to digest the diversification.

Chinese, made in India

Prometric Testing Private Limited (Prometric India) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prometric Inc which provides testing and assessment services. In 2009, the company was awarded a contract by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to conduct the Common Admission Test (CAT) for entry into top management schools in India.

'Ours is a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract with the IIMs'

The Ministry of Human Resource Development&rsquo;s austerity plans for the educational institutions to cut wasteful expenditure related to setting up of infrastructure, conducting seminars, travel and purchase of books, among others, has received a mixed response from the country&rsquo;s premier institutions namely the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). &ldquo;These circulars are not required as we are already practising these measures. The ministry has issued the directive and we will have to see what expenses can be cut and to what extent,&rdquo; said IIM-Ahmedabad Director Samir Barua. The institute has a world class library with resources that are expensive. &ldquo;We need to maintain databases and subscriptions for journals,books etc. The subscription prices go up every year because if the dollar depreciates, then the rupee becomes more costly,&rdquo; he added.

MHRD's austerity measures get mixed response

Education services provider Manipal Education has joined hands with vocational training firm City &amp; Guilds to form a joint venture (JV) called Manipal City &amp; Guilds Skills Training that will provide its offerings under the name &lsquo;IndiaSkills&rsquo;. Manipal Education holds 51 per cent in the JV and the rest 49 per cent is held by City &amp; Guilds.

Manipal Education and City & Guilds form JV to launch IndiaSkills

Technical education got a big boost in North-East with Centre approving the setting up of five new National Institutes of Technology (NIT) in the region. The new NITs will come up in Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, in addition to Goa, Pudducherry, Delhi and Uttrakhand, an official press release stated. The setting up of these new NITs will start in 2009-10 with the formation of their respective societies, constitution of their Board of Governors etc.

Five new NITs to be established in North-East

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The top 10 business bestsellers

    Name the brand which has come out with a Mahatma Gandhi limited edition of one of its products. The product design includes a lacquered surface showing cotton texture and yarn spun on a spindle.

The Strategist Quiz (#115)

    One of this brand&rsquo;s print ads featured a four-armed, scantily clad woman wearing gold clothing, accompanied by the headline, &ldquo;There is a Goddess.&rdquo; The company that owns the brand was accused by a group called the American Hindus Against Defamation of tarnishing the image of the Hindu god Shiva. Name the brand.

Answers to last week&#39s quiz (#114)

Hyderabad-based Bambino Agro Industries Limited, engaged in the production of vermicelli, pasta and instant foods, is tying up with a city-based university for conducting research in food technology and making nutritional products.

Bambino to tie up with universities

Over 3,000 faculty members of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will go on a one-day hunger strike on September 24 to protest against the modified notification of the Union ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) which, among other things, ignores their demand for a pay rise.

IIT faculty to fast for a day but will hold classes

How S Ramadorai groomed Natarajan Chandrasekaran as his successor.

Transition at TCS

Kotak Mahindra Bank's new advertisements highlight its proposition of making banking simple.

Wife appeal

Tata Teleservices thinks it has hit upon the formula for success with its 'pay per call' plan.

No limits

So far the rural markets were supposed to be safe from the economic downturn. Though urban retailers were facing inclement weather, rural retailers were safe and sound. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and high support prices for key crops had improved purchasing power. The expansion in the network of rural roads had begun to fetch better prices for farm produce. Rural income, of course, is not taxed.

Triveni Engg: Rural retail slowdown

For Mercedes-Benz, there is more to the Indian automobile market than just luxury cars. Along with Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, it is now looking to grow its share in the premium commercial vehicle market, which Volvo has ruled unchallenged for a while. Mercedes is not a newcomer to the Indian commercial vehicle market, having launched its Actros trucks and Mercedes-Benz buses in September 2008. The company has sold 580 trucks and 25 buses so far.

Mercedes-Benz: Merc&#39;s trucks roll out

If you are planning to go to a &lsquo;Nokia Priority&rsquo; store today to buy a mobile handset, you could be in for a pleasant surprise. There&rsquo;s a lot more to these stores now than mere hardware.

Nokia: Devices to services

Vijay is the name of the character that Amitabh Bachhan has played in many of his movies. In most cases, Vijay belonged to the underprivileged class.

Insurers bank on celebrity appeal

In order to create an environment of interaction between MBA students and industries, SV Institute of Management at Kadi had organised a national summer project competition recently.

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