Women comprise about 20-25 per cent of the total organised workforce in India. In absolute terms, this number is larger than the female workforce in most other nations. The increasing acceptance of women at work, increasing literacy rate, and marriage at relatively older ages are the main factors contributing to a stronger women workforce.

KIT: The women workforce and its impact

Business Standard

Sometime last year, Marico, the Harsh Mariwala-controlled and Mumbai-headquartered homespun maker of fast-moving consumer goods, test-marketed salted baked snacks under the brand Saffola Zest in Mumbai. The feedback from consumers was that the snack wasn&rsquo;t tasty enough. So, the company has sent the product back to its laboratory for some more research. It will be a tightrope walk for Marico.

A healthy head start?

Traditional Indian businesses want to get young. The latest to join the bandwagon is Godrej which was founded way back in 1897 by Ardeshir Godrej and his brother, Pirojshah.

In sync with the youth

    Name the brand of sport shoes and the basketball player whose signature is found on all its shoes.

Answers to last week's quiz (#141)

    &ldquo;Now you know&rdquo; and &ldquo;Live in the know&rdquo;.

The Strategist Quiz (#142)

In the last two years, Airbus has not bagged a single order from India, and it is unlikely to do so this year. It delivered over 40 aircraft in 2008, 29 in 2009 and expects to hand over not more than 19 in 2010. The reason is that the aviation sector has taken a severe beating.

Waiting for takeoff

The slew of sporting events this year, beginning with the Indian Premier League and the T-20 World Cup, has sent all sportswear brands in a tizzy. Adidas has beaten its sister brand, Reebok, and rival Nike to become the first to release a campaign this season. It marks the start of what it calls the &lsquo;Champagne Year&rsquo; because of the windfall of sports events. Adidas claims a lead in market share in India in sportswear, while internationally it trails Nike.

Adidas: Cricket to the core

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The top 10 business bestsellers

West Asia may soon get a taste of Pepsico&rsquo;s Indian innovation.

Kurkure set to go abroad

BMW was the first to do it with BMW Studio. Premium carmaker SkodaAuto India, a unit of the Volkswagen Group, has been quick to follow suit by launching its limited series of boutique showrooms in India.

Skoda goes in for boutique shops

Alister Dcunha, a 30-year-old Australian resident and a die-hard cricket fan, is all set to watch the third season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the online video streaming site, YouTube. Besides watching key matches live this year, for free, the India-born Australian plans to keep himself tuned to cricket matches via his mobile phone too.

Batting for live webcast

Never have more Indians donned the silly-looking 3D glasses simultaneously. So, if Avatar has brought 3D films back in vogue, it makes perfect sense to pocket a 3D camera this year.

3D in your pockets

    Which European company is running a service to enable consumers to hire its full range of vehicles, including bicycles, scooters, cars and vans, using a prepaid card that can be topped up online? The strategy is intended to increase brand visibility in the hope that many of those hiring vehicles through the scheme will go on to buy one.

The Strategist Quiz (#134)

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The share of internet advertising in comparison to total advertising spend among Indian companies has grown from 1.3 per cent to 2.9 per cent.

KIT: Social Media in India

Stein-Erick Vellan, the managing director of Unitech Wireless, stands over seven feet tall in his boots. He has in the past led the Norwegian basketball team in international championships. Yet the company he leads is a pygmy amongst giants. It is, after all, the latest entrant to the crowded Indian mobile telecom services market: Each of the 22 circles has at least half a dozen operators.

Calls to a crowded space

After exclusive tie-ups with top global brands like Fisher Space, Pelikan and Sheaffer, William Penn, the multi-brand retail chain of writing instruments, has now got into a partnership with Caran d&rsquo;Ache of Switzerland. Founded in 1924 by Arnold Schweitzer, Caran d&rsquo;Ache is a product of Switzerland&rsquo;s long history of watch-making and jewelry manufacture. &ldquo;It is Swiss craftsmanship akin to its watches,&rdquo; says Nikhil Ranjan, the president of William Penn.

William Penn: Quest for fine pens

Audi came to India in 2007, much after Mercedes and BMW. Though the market for luxury cars is tough, it has begun to expand at a brisk pace. Audi India Managing Director Benoit Tiers has his task cut out &mdash; he needs to establish the brand, set up a dealer network and convince buyers that his machines are better than those of rivals. The last bit is easier said than done; all three &mdash; Mercedes, BMW and Audi &mdash; represent the best of German automotive engineering.

'Fast-growing millionaires in India are coming to Audi'

Nokia, the dominant force in the handset industry, has spent the major part of 2009 guarding its turf against resurgent rivals like Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, and also tech powerhouses like Research in Motion (RIM), Apple and HTC. Additionally, Nokia has also been deflecting blows at the operating system level, most notably from Google&rsquo;s Android and Microsoft&rsquo;s Windows Mobile.

Nokia: Netbook entry

The return of Hari Sadu

    What is the term used to define physical and digital mail, documents and packages that flow across organisations to their customers and back? It encompasses people, technology and processes from document creation to production, distribution and management.

Answers to last week's quiz (#133)

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