He could be just another 28-year-old who finds it hard to conceal his excitement over social networking sites like Twitter. But, Yuvraj Singh is no ordinary celebrity blogging and attracting fans online. Though the cricketer acknowledges his late entry into the cyber world, he has a few aces up his sleeve.

Hitting a six online

Business Standard

A dominant leader in the volume segment, the company&rsquo;s latest move is designed to strengthen its presence in the value market as well.

Cadbury's silk route

While the Copenhagen conference was on, reams of print coverage, editorials and conversations were dedicated to the cause of climate change. But as days go by after the conference, the idea of bringing the attention to the issue and the solutions that can be implemented seems to have faded into the background.

Opportunity in climate change

One year after tying up with Walt Disney to produce and market Disney&rsquo;s school and fashion bags in India, the Emami Group is moving to grab a bigger share of the pie with more licences.

Emami wants more of Disney

With an alternative to carbonated cola drinks in lemon-flavoured beverages, PepsiCo India is not cutting any slack. Its non-carbonated lemon juice-based 7-Up Nimbooz already on the shelves, the company has started sprucing up the parent brand, 7-Up, with a simpler and single-minded positioning. A new campaign and new packaging would take the brand closer to India&rsquo;s small towns.

PepsiCo India: A twist of lime

The Tata Group has instituted a number of mechanisms to encourage its large workforce to innovate.

Tatas learn to innovate

    Prefixes to business books with economics as the suffix.

Answers to last week's quiz (#134)

Toy maker Hanung&rsquo;s move to hedge risks by diversifying into furnishings has started to pay off.

Furnishing against risk

Discovery Networks, which has a strong presence in India through its channels Travel &amp; Living, Discovery and Animal Planet, has recently launched two new channels: Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo.

Discovery Networks: New discoveries

    While he was the technical advisor to UN in India, he conceived the mechanism to strip away unwanted tape recording noise. He patented this invention on his return to London. Identify him and the technology he invented.

The Strategist Quiz (#135)

Boeing&rsquo;s first Indian ad campaign stresses that the company is doing a lot more in India than just selling airplanes.

Beyond the jetliners

Entertainment has emerged as a vital component in new malls and shopping centres, owing to its increasing popularity among consumers, and the preference towards making shopping malls complete community centres.

KIT: Entertainment Formats in Mall Development

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The top 10 business bestsellers

United Breweries is keen to add a dash of colour to its portfolio of beer brands. That&rsquo;s why the company is silently working on launching flavoured alcoholic beverages under the brand name Kingfisher Buzz, which will take on Bacardi Martini's Breezer, which has been around for eight years now.

Kingfisher buzz set to get louder

Rupa Datta grew up in a tony neighbourhood in south Kolkata. Like many teenagers of her age in Kolkata, she used to really enjoy a bottle of Thums Up after dinner at home. But life changed for her when she moved to Delhi in the mid-1990s, and she could not indulge in her favourite drink as the brand was not readily available. Rupa would not settle for another cola and her family had to scout markets to buy a bottle of Thums Up.

Thums Up's new thunder

Does Volmax sound similar to Voltas? That is the question which the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) will have to consider again as the 12-year old brand dispute between multinational drug major Glaxo and Tata group firm Voltas is back on its table.

Glaxo, Voltas in brand war

Scaling K12

Heavy petting

A few weeks away from blogging meant more driving &mdash; most of it in the Skoda Laura diesel that is proving to be a comfortable, even luxurious, commuting tool. Sure it does not have the legroom of the big Superb, but slide that passenger seat forward and there is enough room for the longest of legs you can find. Ride quality is similar if not as good as the Superb, but acceleration is definitely more spirited. The Octavia and the Laura have given Indians a chance to understand European build quality and robust diesel engines. These are virtues that VW will be expecting to turn the B-segment tide towards them as they commercially release the Polo in a fortnight&rsquo;s time. Do consider the 1.8-litre petrol Laura too if you are in the market for a new sedan. It is not as economical as the diesel, but that 160 bhp turbo motor mated to a six-speed manual can be quite a handful to play with.

Total recall

The setting up of feminist publishing house Kali for Women in New Delhi in 1984, was a watershed in many ways. 25 years later, Anita Roy retraces the journey.

Speaking of women

I use a Ford Ikon 1.6 and a Chevrolet Spark. I wish to have an additional car in the 1.6-litre engine segment. I am not opting for the Ford Fiesta diesel, as it would be a virtual repetition as far as the looks of the car are concerned. The new car will be used for driving around 2,000 km a month in and around Vadodara. I have shortlisted the Honda City and the Chevrolet Optra Magnum. I like the City&rsquo;s looks; how does the automatic compare vis-a-vis the standard manual? And how does it weigh against the Optra in terms of ride quality and economy? I am open to suggestions from you on other cars in the Rs 8 to 11 lakh bracket. I expect boot space similar to that of the Ikon and fuel consumption at over 13 kilometres to the litre.

City beat

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