बैंक की इस खास स्कीम का उठाएं फायदा, अकाउंट पर मिलेगा ज्यादा ब्याज

आपके बचत खाते में पड़ी राशि पर कितना ब्याज मिलता है? मुश्किल से लगभग 4 से 6 फीसदी। अक्सर बचत खाते में लंबे समय तक राशि यूं ही पड़ी रहती है और आप 4 से 6 फीसदी ब्याज से ही संतुष्ट होते रहते हैं, लेकिन आप चाहें तो इस खाते में ही पड़े पैसे पर थोड़ा अधिक ब्याज हासिल कर सकते हैं। यह संभव है ऑटो स्वीप फैसिलिटी के जरिए, जिसे फ्लेक्सी डिपॉजिट स्कीम भी कहा जाता है।

आपको बता दें कि जहां सेविंग अकाउंट पर लगभग 4 से 6 प्रतिशत ब्याज मिलता है वहीं फिक्स डिपॉजिट पर लगभग 8 प्रतिशत तक का ब्याज मिलता है। इस तरह से अगर आप इस प्रणाली का उपयोग करते हैं तो अपने सेविंग अकाउंट से ही एफडी का फायदा ले सकते हैं।

क्या है ऑटो स्वीप फैसिलिटी

ऑटो स्वीप फैसिलिटी बचत खाते और सावधि जमा खाते का मिश्रित रूप है। संक्षेप में कहें तो इसमें बचत खाते में पड़ा अतिरिक्त धन अपने आप फिक्स्ड डिपॉजिट (एफडी) में बदल जाता है और जब भी पैसे की जरूरत होती है, उस एफडी का पैसा अपने आप फिर से बचत खाते में आ जाता है।

ऐसे काम करती है प्रणाली

इस सुविधा का लाभ लेने के लिए आपको ये 3 बातें बैंक को बतानी होती हैं-

1- वह अधिकतम राशि, जो आपके बचत खाते में रहेगी, इसे थ्रेशोल्ड लिमिट कहते हैं।
2- वह राशि जितने की एफडी बनेगी।
3- वह अवधि जितने समय के लिए एफडी बननी है।

यह निर्धारित होने के बाद शेष कार्य बैंक का कम्प्यूटर करेगा। जैसे ही आपके बचत खाते में पड़ी राशि थ्रेशोल्ड लिमिट और एफडी की राशि से ऊपर जाती है, अपने आप एफडी बन जाएगी। यह एफडी उतने दिनों के लिए बनती है, जितनी अवधि का निर्धारण आप पहले ही कर चुके हैं।

इसे ऐसे समझें

आपने अपने बचत खाते में थ्रेशोल्ड लिमिट 10 हजार रुपए, एफडी 5 हजार रुपए और अवधि 6 माह की तय की है। मान लीजिए आपके बचत खाते में 12 हजार रुपए हैं। यह राशि थ्रेशोल्ड लिमिट से अधिक है, लेकिन इसमें कोई एफडी नहीं बनेगी, क्योंकि आपने 5 हजार रुपए की एफडी तय की है। यानी एफडी के लिए आपके खाते में कम से कम 15 हजार रुपए होनी चाहिए।

मान लीजिए इस खाते में वेतन के रूप में 17 हजार रुपए जमा होते हैं। अब आपके खाते में हो जाएंगे 29 हजार रुपए और ऑटो स्वीप फैसिलिटी प्रणाली लागू हो जाएगी। ऐसी स्थिति में आपके नाम हो जाएंगी पांच-पांच हजार रुपए की तीन एफडी और बचत खाते में शेष राशि रहेगी 14 हजार रुपए (29,000 —15,000= 14,000)।

इस स्थिति में अपने आप टूट जाएगी एफडी-

अब मान लीजिए आपने एटीएम से 3 हजार रुपए निकाल लिए। बचत खाते में बचे 11 हजार रुपए। फिर आपने किसी को 1500 रुपए का चेक दे दिया, जिसे भुनाने पर बचत खाते में राशि हो गई 9,500 रुपए जो आपकी थ्रेशोल्ड लिमिट 10 हजार रुपए से कम है। ऐसे में बैंक आपकी एक एफडी अपने आप तोड़ लेगा। इस प्रकार अब आपके बचत खाते में राशि हो जाएगी 14,500 रुपए और एफडी की संख्या दो रह जाएगी।

फिर जुड़ जाएगी एक एफडी

अब यदि आपको कहीं से 500 रुपए का कोई चेक मिलता है तो उसे जमा करने के बाद आपके बचत खाते में राशि हो जाएगी 15,000 रुपए। यानी थ्रेशोल्ड लिमिट से 5 हजार रुपए ज्यादा। ऐसे में फिर से आपके नाम एक एफडी बढ़ जाएगी। अब आपकी एफडी तीन हो जाएंगी और बचत खाते में राशि बचेगी 10 हजार रुपए।

વિદેશની નોકરી છોડી શરૂ કરી પોતાની વેબસાઇટ, આજે છે કરોડોની માલિક

અનિશા સિંહ, ફાઉન્ડર અને સીઈઓ (Mydala.com)
અનિશા સિંહ આજ કરોડો રૂપિયાની માલિક છે. અનિશાએ વિદેશમાં નોકરી છોડીને 2009માં પોતાનો બિઝનેસ શરૂ કર્યો હતો. શરૂઆતમાં સેન્ટ્રા સોફ્ટવેર, બોસ્ટનમાં કામ કર્યું. તેમણે એવી મહિલાઓ માટે ફંડની વ્યવસ્તા કરી જેમની પાસે ઇનોવેટિવ આઇડિયા હતા અને જે ઉદ્યમી બનવા માગતી હતી. ભારત આવતા પહેલા અનિશા કિનિસ સોફ્ટવેર સોલ્યૂશન્સમાં નોકરી કરી ચૂક્યા હતા. આ કંપની ઈ-લર્નિંગ સોલ્યૂશન્સ આપે છે, જે ફોર્ચ્યૂનની 500 શ્રેષ્ઠ કંપનીઓમાં સામેલ છે. ત્યાર બાદ અનિશા સિંહ ભારત પરત ફર્યા અને વર્ષ 2009માં Mydala.com નામની એક વેબસાઇટ બનાવી. આજે આ વેબસાઇટ ભારતની મોટી વેબસાઇટ છે, જે ગિફ્ટ કૂપન ઉપલબ્ધ કરાવે છે. અનિશાની પાસે પોલિટિકલ કોમ્યુનિકેશનમાં માસ્ટર ડિગ્રી છે. ઉપરાંત તેમણે અમેરિકન યૂનિવર્સિટી, વોશિંગ્ટનથી ઇન્ફોર્મેશન સિસ્ટમમાં એમબીએ કર્યું છે. 

બે એવોર્ડ મળી ચૂક્યા છે
અનિશા સિંહને વુમન લીડરશિપ એવોર્ડ (2014) અને લીડિંગ વુમન ઇન રિટેલ (2012) એવોર્ડથી સન્માનિત કરવામાં આવ્યા છે. 

શું છે વિશેષતા
સ્થાપક સભ્યઃ અનિશા સિંહ, અર્જુન બાસુ, આશીષ ભટનાગર
મર્ચન્ટ્સ (વ્યાપારી)- બે લાખથી વધુ
યૂનીક વિઝિટર્સ- 5 કરોડ
રજિસ્ટર્ડ યૂઝર્સ- 2.5 કરોડ
કસ્ટમર ટ્રાન્ઝેક્શન દર મહિને- 40 લાખ
ફન્ડિંગ- 43 કરોડ 78 લાખ રૂપિયા
આટલી રકમનો સામાન વેચે છેઃ 300 કરોડ દર મહિને

પંખુરી શ્રીવાસ્તવ, સહ સ્થાપક અને સીએમઓ (GrabHouse.com)

પંખુરી શ્રીવાસ્તવને ભણવા અને ડાન્સ કરવાનો શોખ હતો. પંખુરી ભોલા યૂનિવર્સિટીથી કોમ્પ્યુટર સાયન્સ અને એન્ડિનિયરિંગ કર્યું છે. પંખુરીને ટેક ફોર 

ઇન્ડિયામાં ફેલોશિપ પણ મળી ચૂકી છે. તેઓ વર્ષ 2010માં મુંબઈ આવ્યા હતા. અહીં આવીને લાગ્યું કે ઘર શોધું કેટલું મુશ્કેલ છે. એટલું જ નહીં ઘર શોધવા માટે 

દલાલને પણ સારી એવી રકમ આપવી પડે છે. ત્યાર બાદ તેમણે પોતાની એક વેબસાઇટ શરૂ કરવાનો વિચાર આવ્યો, જેના દ્વારા લોકો પોતાના માટે ઘર શોધી 

શકે. ખાસ કરીને વિદ્યાર્થી, જેમને બજેટ ઘરની જરૂરત વધુ હોય છે. ત્યાર બાદ તેમણે ભારતની ફ્રી રુમમેટ સર્ચ એન્જિન (GrabHouse.com) શરૂ કરી.

નેહા બેહાની, સહ-સ્થાપક (Moojic.com)

ઓનલાઇન મ્યૂઝિક સંભળાવતી વેબસાઇટ મૂજિક ડોટ કોમની પાછળ બે વ્યક્તિ ફાળો મહત્ત્વપૂર્ણ છે. એક છે સહ-સ્થાપક નેહા બિહાની અને સહ-સ્થાપક કુમારન 

મહેન્દ્રમ. નેહા શરૂથી ઉદ્યમી બનવા માગતી હતી. આ જ કારણ છે કે, તેમણે પોતાની નોકરી છોડી દીધી. નેહાએ કંઈક ખાસ કરવાનો વિચાર હતો અને એજ 

આઇડિયા સાથે તેઓ કુમારનને મળી. નેહા લોકોને એક એવું પોર્ટલ ઉપલબ્ધ કરાવવા માગતી હતી જે સરળતાથી મ્યૂઝિક સાંભળી શકે. તેમની વેબસાઇટ પર 

કોઈપણ પ્લે લિસ્ટ બનાવી શકે છે. મૂજિક ડોટ કોમ હાલમાં સૌથી વધુ પસંદ કરવામાં આવતી વેબસાઇટમાંથી એક છે. 

ગુરલીન કોર, સીઈઓ, હરી પત્તી
ગુરલીને ગાઝિયાબાદના ઇન્સ્ટિટ્યૂટ ઓફ મેનેજમેન્ટ ટેક્નોલોજીથી ફાઇનાન્સનો અભ્યાસ કર્યો છે. ઉપરાંત તેમની પાસે એસએસ કોલેજ ઓફ બિઝનેસ સ્ટડીઝની BFIA (Bachelor in Financial and Investment Analysis) પણ લીધી છે. કોલેજના દિવસોમાં તેમને બિઝનેસ શરૂ કરવાનો વિચાર આવ્યો હતો. કોલેજ છોડ્યા બાદ તેમણે હરી પત્તી નામથી એક વેબસાઇટ શરૂ કરી. તેમની કંપની લોકોને રોકાણ માટે ટિપ્સ આપે છે. નાણાંકીય સપોર્ટની સાથે જ ટૂંકા અને લાંબાગાળા માટે ધ્યેય મેળવવાની રીત પણ જણાવે છે. ગુરલીનું અંગ્રેજી સારૂ છે. તેની સાથે જ તેમને બ્લોગ લખવાનું પસંદ છે. તેઓ પોતાના બ્લોગ પર એવી તમામ વાત લખે છે, જેનાથી તે શીખે છે. 

નીરુ શર્મા, સહ-સંસ્થાપક (Infibeam.com)
નીરૂ શર્મા ઇન્ફીબીમ કંપનીની સહ-સ્થાપક અને કોર્પોરેટ એન્ડ બિઝનેસ ડેવલપમેન્ટ હેડ છે. આ વેબસાઇટ ભારતની મુખ્ય ઈ-કોમર્સ વેબસાઇટમાંથી એક છે. ઇન્ફીબીમે થોડા દિવસ પહેલા પિક્સ્ક્વેયર ડોટ કોમ (Picsquare.com)નું અધિગ્રહણ કર્યું. પિક્સ્કવેયર ડોટ કોમ એક ફોટો પ્રિન્ટિંગ વેબસાઇટ હતી. આ પેહલા નીરૂની કંપનીએ પાંચ મિલનય ડોલરમાં ડિજિટલ માર્કેટિંગ કંપની ઓડિગ્માનું અધિગ્રહણ કર્યું હતું. નીરૂ આ પહેલા એમેઝોન ડોટ કોમ, યૂએએસમાં કોર્પોરેટ ડેવલપમેન્ટ અને મિડલ રિટેલ વિભાગમાં કાર કરી ચૂક્યા છે. જ્યાં સુધી અભ્યાસની વાત છે, નીરૂ કોમ્પ્યુટર સાયન્સમાં સ્નાતકની ડિગ્રી લીધી છે. આ વેબસાઇટ શરૂ કરતા પહેલા પણ તેઓ એક પ્રોજેક્ટ્સ પર કામ કરી ચૂક્યા છે. 

મિલિયોનેર પટેલ USમાં 17 એકરમાં બનાવી રહ્યા છે મહેલ જેવું ઘર

ઇન્ટરનેશનલ ડેસ્કઃ ફ્લોરિડામાં ટેમ્પા બે ખાતે રહેતા વડોદરાના મોટા ફોફડીયા ગામના વતની ડો. કિરણ પટેલ તેમના નવા ઘરને કારણે ચર્ચામાં છે. પત્ની ડો. પલ્લવી પટેલ સાથે મળીને ડોક્ટર દંપતિએ સમાજસેવા, શિક્ષણ અને કલાના ક્ષેત્રે આગવું યોગદાન કર્યું જેને કારણે ફ્લોરિડા મીડિયા તેમને 'ધ પાવર કપલ' તરીકે સંબોધે છે.  ડેલ માબ્રી હાઇ-વેને અડીને તૈયાર થઇ રહેલી ઇમારતને જોઇને મોટાભાગના લોકો સમજી રહ્યા છે કે, અહીં કોઇ ભવ્ય હોટેલ તૈયાર થઇ રહી હશે, પરંતુ અહીં જ ડો. પટેલનું આલિશાન ઘર તૈયાર થઇ રહ્યું છે.  

 

મહેલની ડિઝાઇન પરથી તૈયાર થઇ રહ્યું છે ઘર

 

ટેમ્પાના કેરોલવૂડ વિસ્તારમાં આવેલા વ્હાઇટ ટ્રાઉટ લેકની નજીક 17 એકર જમીન પર પટેલ પરિવારનું ઘર તૈયાર થઇ રહ્યું છે. અંદાજે 35000 સ્ક્વેયર ફૂટમાં પથરાયેલ આલિશાન મકાનની ડિઝાઇન ભારતના કેટલાંક મહેલો પરથી ઇન્સ્પાયર્ડ છે. ડો. પટેલનું આ ઘર હિલ્સબરો કાઉન્ટીમાં સૌથી વિશાળ હશે.   

 

મુખ્ય બિલ્ડિંગમાં 8400 ફૂટના બે વિશાળ વિંગ છે. જેમાં એક તરફ ડો. પટેલ અને તેમનાં પત્ની રહેશે. જ્યારે બીજા વિંગમાં તેમનો દીકરો પોતાના પરિવાર સાથે રહેશે. તે સિવાય તે જ કમ્પાઉન્ડમાં તેમની બે દીકરીઓ માટે 7000 સ્ક્વેયર ફૂટના ઘર તૈયાર થઇ રહ્યા છે. તે સિવાય અહીંયા મંદિર, મિનિ થિયેટર, ત્રણ ગેસ્ટ હાઉસ, 12 કાર માટેનું ગેરેજ, સ્ટાફ હાઉસ અને કોમન મેઇન્ટેનેન્સ બિલ્ડિંગ પણ તૈયાર થઇ રહ્યા છે. 

 

ફ્રીડમ હેલ્થના માલિક મલ્ટિ મિલિયોનેર પટેલે પોતાના અતિ ભવ્ય ઘર અંગે  સ્થાનિક મીડિયાને જણાવ્યું હતું કે, પ્રેક્ટિકલી કહું તો આ જગ્યાએથી એરપોર્ટ, ઓફિસ, શાળાઓ, હોસ્પિટલ બધું જ નજીક છે. મારો પરિવાર આગામી 50 વર્ષ સુધી ભેગો જ રહે તે માટે જ ખાસ આ ઘરને હું તૈયાર કરાવી રહ્યો છું. જો મેં જે વિચાર્યું છે એમાં મને સફળતા મળશે તો ઘર પાછળ કરેલ ખર્ચ યથાર્થ ઠરશે. 

 

વર્ષ 2012ના નવેમ્બર મહિનામાં અહીંયા ભૂમિ-પૂજન થયું હતું. અંદાજાનુસાર 2016 સુધીમાં આ ઘર તૈયાર થઇ જશે. મહેલો પરથી ઇન્સ્પાયર્ડ ઘરને તૈયાર કરવામાં કેટલો ખર્ચ થયો તે હજુ સુધી સ્પષ્ટ નથી.

 

આગળ વાંચોઃ આફ્રિકાના નામકડા દેશ ઝામ્બિયામાં જન્મેલો યુવક કેવી રીતે બન્યો મિલિયોનેર

વર્ષ 2012માં ટેમ્પા બે ટાઇમ્સને આપેલા ઇન્ટરવ્યૂમાં ડો. પટેલે પોતાના જર્ની અંગે વાત કરી હતી. ડો. પટેલે જણાવ્યું હતું કે, 39 વર્ષ પહેલા 1976માં હું થેંક્સગિવિંગ ડે પર હું ઝામ્બિયા (આફ્રિકા)થી અમેરિકા આવ્યો હતો. કાર્ડિયોલોજિસ્ટ એવા કિરણ પટેલના પત્ની પલ્લવી પટેલ પીડિયાટ્રિશિયન છે. તેઓ અમદાવાદની જ મેડિકલ કોલેજમાં મળ્યા હતા. 

 

1999માં ડોક્ટરી છોડવા અંગે પટેલે કહ્યું હતું કે, તે સમયે ફ્રીડમ હેલ્થનો બિઝનેસ 100 મિલિયન ડોલર સુધી પહોંચ્યો હતો ને ડોક્ટરી અને બિઝનેસ બંને સંભળાવું પોસિબલ ન હતું આથી મેં બિઝનેસ પર ફોકસ કરવાનું નક્કી કર્યું. ડોક્ટર હતો ત્યારે મારો બધો સમય પ્રોફેશનને જ સમર્પિત હતો. હું પહેલેથી જ જોખમ લેનારો અને ક્રિએટિવ ફાઇનાન્સિંગમાં રસ ધરાવતો વ્યક્તિ છું. મારી રેસિડેન્સી 1982માં પૂરી થઇ પછી તરત જ મેં પ્રેક્ટિસ શરૂ કરી હતી, જે અસાધારણ પગલું હતું. બાદમાં મેં મારું ઘર ખરીદ્યું ને થોડા જ સમયમાં બે મર્સિડીઝ ખરીદી. તે સમયે મને એક કલાકના 25 ડોલર મળતા હતા, આથી મેં મનમાં ગણતરી કરી કે, એક દિવસમાં હું 300 ડોલર કમાઇ શકીશ. જેમાંથી 10 દિવસનું કામ હું ઘર માટે અને ચાર દિવસ કારના પૈસા માટે કામ કરતો હતો. મને ક્યારેય કામના કલાકોથી ડર નથી લાગ્યો. 

 

'ધ રિચેસ્ટ' અનુસાર, ડો. પટેલની સંપત્તિ 250 મિલિયન ડોલર છે.

 

આગળ વાંચોઃ ડો. કિરણની કંપનીનું ટર્નઓવર 1 બિલિયન ડોલર સુધી પહોંચ્યું હતું 

પોતાના ઘર અંગે 65 વર્ષીય ડો. પટેલે જણાવ્યું હતું કે, આ વિશાળ પ્રોપર્ટીમાં ઓછામાં ઓછામાં ચાર પરિવારો રહેશે. મારું, મારા દીકરાનું અને બંને દીકરીઓના પરિવાર. ચારેય પરિવાર સાથે અને સ્વતંત્ર રીતે રહી શકે તે રીતે ઘર તૈયાર થઇ રહ્યું છે. સુખ-દુઃખની ઘડીમાં આખો પરિવાર સાથે જ હોય તેવી જ આશા સાથે હું આ ઘર તૈયાર કરી રહ્યો છું. અહીંયા મારા પૌત્ર-પૌત્રીઓ ભેગા ઉછરશે જેથી તેમની વચ્ચેનું બોન્ડિંગ ખૂબ સરસ હશે. 
 
ડો. પટેલ હેલ્થએજ ઇન્વેસ્ટમેન્ટ પાર્ટનર્સના એડવાઇઝરી પાર્ટનર છે.  વર્ષ 1992થી 2002 દરમિયાન તેઓ વેલકેર HMOના સીઇઓ હતા. તે દરમિયાન કંપનીનું ટર્નઓવર 1 બિલિયન ડોલર સુધી પહોંચી ગયું હતું. હાલમાં કંપનીમાં 4.50 લાખ ક્લાયન્ટ્સ છે અને 1200 લોકો કંપનીમાં કામ કરે છે. 

 

હેલ્થ સેક્ટર સિવાય ડો. પટેલ રિયલ એસ્ટેટમાં પણ સક્રિય છે. તેઓ હાલમાં પટેલ ફાઉન્ડેશન ફોર ગ્લોબલ અન્ડરસ્ટેન્ડિંગના ચેરમેન તરીકે કાર્યરત છે. તે સિવાય તેઓ વિઝનરી મેડિકલ સિસ્ટમ્સમના ચેરમેન તરીકે પણ તેઓ કાર્યરત છે.

 

VID-20150320-WA0021.mp4

माफ करना, ये विडियो दोस्तों में बांटे बगैर ना रहे सका ।

Posted by Paresh Thakkar on Thursday, March 19, 2015

Kalali Utsav 2015 - Day 5 - session 2

ધીરુભાઈ અંબાણીના પ્રખ્યાત સુવાક્યો

-મોટું વિચારો, ઝડપથી વિચારો, દુરંદેશી કેળવો. વિચારો પર કોઈનો એકાધિકાર નથી. -આપણા સ્વપ્ન મોટા હોવા જોઈએ, મહત્વાકાંક્ષાઓ ઉંચી હોવી જોઈએ, આપણી પ્રતિબદ્ધતા ઊંડી હોવી જોઈએ અને આપણા પ્રયત્નો મોટા હોવા જોઈએ, રિલાયન્સ અને ભારત માટે મારું આ જ સ્વપ્ન છે. -આપણે આપણા શાશકોને તો નથી બદલી શકતા પરંતુ તેમની શાશન કરવાની રીતને જરૂર બદલી શકીએ છીએ. -નફો કમાવવા માટે કોઈના આમંત્રણની જરૂર નથી. -જો તમે સ્વપ્ન જોશો તો જ તમે તેને પૂરું કરી શકશો. -દ્રઢ સંકલ્પ અને પૂર્ણતાથી કામ કરશો તો સફળતા જરૂર મળશે. તકલીફોમાં પણ તમારા લક્ષ્યને વળગી રહો અને વિપત્તિઓને અવસરમાં બદલો. -યુવાનોને સારું વાતાવરણ આપો, તેઓને પ્રેરિત કરો, સહયોગ કરો. તેમાંના દરેક ઉર્જાના સ્ત્રોત છે અને તેઓ કરી બતાવશે. -સબંધો અને વિશ્વાસ એ વિકાસના પાયા સમાન છે. -સમયસર નહિ, સમય પહેલા કામ થવાની હું અપેક્ષા રાખું છું. -ભારતીયોની તકલીફ એ છે કે તેઓએ મોટું વિચારવાની આદત છોડી દીધી છે. -લક્ષ્ય એવું નક્કી કરવું જોઈએ કે તેને મેળવી કે પહોચી શકાય કમાવવા માટે ગણતરી પૂર્વકના જોખમો ઉઠાવવા જોઈએ. -તક એ કોઈ નસીબની વાત નથી, તકો તો આપણી આજુબાજુ જ છે, ઘણા લોકો તેનો લાભ લે છે તો ઘણા તેને છોડી દે છે

Never miss the first opportunity !!!!

A young man wished to marry the farmer's beautiful daughter. He went to the farmer to ask his permission. The farmer looked him over and said, "Son, go stand out in that field. I'm going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter." The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull. The barn door opened and out ran the biggest, meanest-looking bull he had ever seen. He decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate. The barn door opened again. Unbelievable. He had never seen anything so big and fierce in his life. It stood pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber as it eyed him. Whatever the next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let the bull pass through the pasture, out the back gate. The door opened a third time. A smile came across his face. This was the weakest, scrawniest little bull he had ever seen. This one was his bull. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just the exact moment. He grabbed... but the bull had no tail! Life is full of opportunities. Some will be easy to take advantage of, some will be difficult. But once we let them pass (often in hopes of something better), those opportunities may never again be available. So always grab the first opportunity.

Why the Wealthy Are Healthy ??????????

Why the Wealthy Are Healthy Several years ago Carnegie Mellon psychologist Sheldon Cohen performed an experiment to try to predict people's susceptibility to disease. First, he asked his subjects one question about their childhood. Then he squirted a cold virus into their noses and waited a few days to see who got sick, and who didn't. ##### He found that significantly more people who answered "no" to his one question came down with a cold, while only a few of those who answered "yes" got sick. The question: Did your parents own their own home when you were a child?##### Cohen eventually asked the question to many people over a period of time, and he went on to conclude, "The more years your parents owned their own home, the less likely you were to develop a cold."##### Cohen's experiment confirmed a number of studies showing that socioeconomic status can have an enormous influence on your health. Researchers have suggested several reasons why the state of your investment portfolio affects the state of your health: Better access to medical care. It seems obvious that wealthier people have better insurance and can afford more out-of-pocket medical expenses. But similar health disparities also exist in the United Kingdom and other countries with universal health coverage. Research shows that the ability to pay for medical care determines only a small portion of the difference in health between the rich and the poor. Safer homes and neighborhoods. As Cohen presumed, people at the lower end of the economic ladder tend not to own their own homes. Instead, they typically rent apartments in poorer neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have more traffic, more pollution, more noise, and more crime. And all of those factors take a toll on people's health and well being. Rich people eat healthier food. Not only can wealthy people afford to buy better food, but they tend to be better educated and more aware of the health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as the negative effects of sugary, salty, high-fat foods. In other words, not only do they shop at Whole Foods instead of stopping by McDonald's, but when they do allow themselves to eat at a fast-food place they are more likely to order a salad than a double cheeseburger. Low-income people suffer more from stress. Sure, rich people may have high-powered jobs and suffer the anxiety of trying to keep up with the Joneses. But they also tend to have more control over their lives and how they spend their time. In addition, Hector Myers, a professor at UCLA, found that members of ethnic and racial minorities, who tend to be lower on the economic scale, suffer stress from discrimination that affects "both the psychological and biological pathways to disease." And Cohen has shown that people who suffer the indignities of being unemployed or underemployed are four and a half times more likely than their well-employed peers to get sick when exposed to a virus. The ability to delay gratification. The famous Stanford University "marshmallow study" found that young children who were able to resist eating a marshmallow for 15 minutes, on the promise of being rewarded with two marshmallows, later scored an average of 210 points higher on their SAT tests than kids who couldn't wait. Kids with more self-control in the marshmallow test were less likely to develop health problems, less likely to suffer from an addiction, and less likely to end up poor. A different study followed a thousand children up to age 32, and supported the finding that people who were able to exercise self-control were healthier and wealthier than their peers. They were also less likely to smoke, commit a crime, or have an unwanted pregnancy than people who were more impulsive. But for those of us who do not have an account with Goldman Sachs, or who are more likely to grab for the marshmallow, there is still hope. Cohen has done other experiments showing that people who display positive emotions such as optimism and feelings of friendliness are less likely to become sick, regardless of their race, gender, or economic situation, and when they do get sick they have milder symptoms and get over them more quickly. So even if our wallets are thin, we have it in our power to make an attitude adjustment and improve our health. Tom Sightings is a former publishing executive who was eased into early retirement in his mid-50s. He lives in the New York area and blogs at Sightings at 60, where he covers health, finance, retirement, and other concerns of baby boomers who realize that somehow they have grown up.

God knows everything !!!!And written all !!(Received by mail)

એક દિવસ યમદૂત એક માણસનો પ્રાણ હરણ કરવા એના ઘરે આવ્યો,

ત્યારે પેલા માણસે કીધુ : હું તારી સાથે આવવા બિલકુલ તૈયાર નથી.

યમદૂત : પણ તારું નામ મારા લીસ્ટમાં સૌથી ઉપર પેલા નંબરે છે, મારે તને લઈજ જવો પડે એમ છે.

માણસ : તો પછી મારી એક ઈચ્છા પૂરી કરો, તમે મારી સાથે અહી બેસીને થોડુક જમી લો, પછી આપણે બંને સાથે નીકળીએ.

(પેલા માણસે યમદૂતની નજર ચૂકવીને એના જમવામાં નિંદરની ગોળીઓ ભેળવી દીધી)

જમ્યા પછી યમદૂતને જબરદસ્ત નિંદર આવવા લાગી અને થોડીવારમા તો તે ઘસઘસાટ ઊંઘવા માંડ્યો.

એ ઉઠે તેની પહેલા જ ઓલા માણસે યમદુતના લીસ્ટમાંથી પોતાનું પહેલું નામ છેકીને સોથી છેલ્લે લખી દીધું.

થોડીવાર પછી યમદૂત મસ્ત પૈકી સુઈને ઉઠયા પછી ખુશમિજાજ અવાજે પેલા માણસને બોલ્યો : હું તારા પર બહુજ ખુશ છું, તારા ઘરે

સ્વાદિષ્ઠ ભોજન લઈને મને પરમ આનંદ થયો અને ખુબજ સરસ નિંદર આવી એટલે હવે હું મારા આ લીસ્ટમાની સૌથી છેલ્લી વ્યક્તિ જે

છે એને મારી સાથે સૌથી પેલા લઇ જઈશ!!!!

બોધ : મિત્રો, મૃત્યુને કોઈ નથી અટકાવી શકતું, જે વિધિમાં લખેલું છે, તે થઇનેજ રહેશે.

The small business

http://www.ziddu.com/downloadlink/14268209/TheSMALLPicture.pdf

Never Give Up

One day a young lady was driving along with her father.
They came upon a storm, and the young lady asked her father, What should I do?"
He said "keep driving". Cars began to pull over to the side, the storm was
Getting worse.

"What should I do." The young lady asked?

"Keep driving," her father replied.

On up a few feet, she noticed that eighteen wheelers were also pulling over.
She told her dad, "I must pull over, I can barely see ahead. It is
Terrible, and everyone is pulling over!"

Her father told her, "Don't give up, just keep driving!"


Now the storm was terrible, but she never stopped driving, and soon she
Could see a little more clearly. After a couple of miles she was again on
Dry land, and the sun came out.


Her father said, "Now you can pull over and get out."

She said "But why now?"

He said "When you get out, look back at all the people that gave up and are
Still in the storm, because you never gave up your storm is now over.


This is a testimony for anyone who is going through "hard times".


Just because everyone else, even the strongest, gives up. You don't have
To...if you keep going, soon your storm will be over and the sun will shine
Upon your face again.


This story touched me! I hope it touched you, too !!!

How To Be A Friend ??????????????

01. Don't worry about knowing people just make yourself worth knowing.

02. Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer.

03. If you can buy a person's friendship, it is not worth it.

04. True friends have hearts that beat as one.

05. If you cannot think of any nice things to say about your friends, then you have the wrong friends.

06. Make friends before you need them.

07. If you were another person, would you like to be a friend of yours?

08. A good friend is one who neither looks down on you nor keeps up with you.

09. Be friendly with the folks you know… if it weren't for them you would be a total stranger.

10. A friend is never known till he is needed.

11. Friendship is a responsibility. ..not an opportunity.

12. Friendship is the cement that holds the world together.

13. Friends are those who speak to you after others don't.

14. The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail and not his tongue.

15. Pick your friends, but not to pieces.

16. A friend is one who puts his finger on a fault without rubbing it in.

17. The way to have friends is to be willing to lose some arguments.

18. If a friend makes a mistake, don't rub it in... Rub it out.

19. Deal with other's faults as gently as if they were your own.

20. People are judged by the company they keep and the company they keep away from.

21. A friend is a person who can step on your toes without messing up your shine.

22. The best mirror is an old friend.

23. The best possession one may have is a true friend.

24. Make friendship a habit and you will always have friends.

25. You will never have a friend if you must have one without faults.

26. Doing nothing for your friends results in having no friends to do for.

27. Anyone can give advice, but a real friend will lend a helping hand.

28. You can make more friends by being interested in them than trying to have them be interested in you.

29. A real friend is a person who, when you've made a fool of yourself, lets you forget it.

30. A friend is a person who listens attentively while you say nothing.

31. You can buy friendship with friendship, but never with dollars.

32. True friends are like diamonds, precious but rare; false friends are like autumn leaves, found everywhere.

33. A friend is someone who thinks you're a good egg even though you're slightly cracked.

Visa matters a lot..!!

In a poor zoo of Pakistan, a lion was frustrated as he was offered not more than 2 kg of meat a day.

The lion thought its prayers were answered, when one day a Dubai Zoo Manager visited the zoo and requested the zoo management to shift the lion to Dubai Zoo.

The lion was so happy and started thinking of a central A/c environment, a goat or two every day.

On its first day after arrival, the lion was offered a big bag, sealed very nicely for breakfast. The lion opened it quickly but was shocked to see that it contained few bananas. The lion thought that may be they cared too much for him as they were worried about his stomach as he had recently shifted from Pakistan .

The next day the same thing happened. On the third day again the same food bag of bananas was delivered.

The lion was so furious; it stopped the delivery boy and blasted at him,' Don't you know I am the lion...king of the Jungle..., what's wrong with your management?, what nonsense is this?, why are you delivering bananas
to me?'

The delivery boy politely said, 'Sir, I know you are the king of the jungle. .. but.... you have been brought here on a monkey's visa !!! '


Moral of the Story....

BETTER TO BE A LION IN PAKISTAN,
THAN A MONKEY ELSEWHERE.

101 ways to reduce Stress..?

1. Get up 15 minutes earlier
2. Prepare for the morning the night before
3. Avoid tight fitting clothes
4. Avoid relying on chemical aids
5. Set appointments ahead
6. Don't rely on your memory ... write it down
7. Practice preventive maintenance
8. Make duplicate keys
9. Say "no" more often
10.Set priorities in your life
11. Avoid negative people
12. Use time wisely
13. Simplify meal times
14. Always make copies of important papers
15. Anticipate your needs
16.. Repair anything that doesn't work properly
17. Ask for help with the jobs you dislike
18. Break large tasks into bite size portions
19. Look at problems as challenges
20. Look at challenges differently
21. Unclutter your life
22. Smile
23. Be prepared for rain
24. Tickle a baby
25. Pet a friendly dog/cat
26. Don't know all the answers
27. Look for a silver lining
28. Say something nice to someone
29. Teach a kid to fly a kite
30. Walk in the rain
31. Schedule play time into every day
32. Take a bubble bath
33. Be aware of the decisions you make
34. Believe in yourself
35. Stop saying negative things to yourself
36. Visualize yourself winning
37. Develop your sense of humor
38. Stop thinking tomorrow will be a better today
39. Have goals for yourself
40. Dance a jig
41. Say "hello" to a stranger
42. Ask a friend for a hug
43. Look up at the stars
44. Practice breathing slowly
45. Learn to whistle a tune
46. Read a poem
47. Listen to a symphony
48. Watch a ballet
49. Read a story curled up in bed
50. Do a brand new thing
51. Stop a bad habit
52. Buy yourself a flower
53. Take time to small the flowers
54. Find support from others
55. Ask someone to be your "vent-partner"
56. Do it today
57. Work at being cheerful and optimistic
58. Put safety first
59. Do everything in moderation
60. Pay attention to your appearance
61. Strive for Excellence NOT perfection
62. Stretch your limits a little each day
63. Look at a work of art
64. Hum a jingle
65. Maintain your weight
66. Plant a tree
67. Feed the birds
68. Practice grace under pressure
69. Stand up and stretch
70. Always have a plan "B"
71. Learn a new doodle
72. Memorize a joke
73. Be responsible for your feelings
74. Learn to meet your own needs
75. Become a better listener
76. Know your limitations and let others know them, too
77. Tell someone to have a good day in Latin
78. Throw a paper airplane
79. Exercise every day
80. Learn the words to a new song
81. Get to work early
82. Clean out one closet
83. Play patty cake with a toddler
84. Go on a picnic
85. Take a different route to work
86. Leave work early (with permission)
87. Put air freshener in your car
88.. Watch a movie and eat popcorn
89. Write a note to a far away friend
90. Go to a ball game and scream
91. Cook a meal and eat it by candlelight
92. Recognize the importance of unconditional love
93. Remember that stress is an attitude
94. Keep a journal
95. Practice a monster smile
96. Remember you always have options
97. Have a support network of people, places and things
98. Quit trying to fix other people
99. Get enough sleep
100.Talk less and listen more
101.Freely praise other people

Just small mistakes !!!

10 Words you need to Stop Misspelling

The amazing story of how Ratan Tata built an empire...!!!!!

The amazing story of how Ratan Tata built an empire...!!!!!

He's packing his bags -- again. December 2012, when he turns 75, is the third scheduled retirement for Ratan Tata.


The Tata Group has been at this inflection point twice earlier, and stepped back both times. In 2002, when Tata was to retire at 65, the Tata Sons board promptly redesignated him non-executive chairman, which meant he could continue for another five years.


Three years later, the board upped the retirement age of non-executive directors to 75. The message is clear: Ratan Tata is indispensable.


And it's not just the board that feels that way. There were loud cries of support from shareholders at the Tata Steel AGM in August, held soon after the announcement that Tata Sons had created a panel to find Tata's successor.


"We can't lose our ratan (jewel)," said one shareholder, while others asked him to stay on as chairman emeritus.


Whether or not he acknowledges it openly, Tata must be feeling vindicated by this public recognition of his worth. When he took over as Tata Group chairman on March 25, 1991, critics were loud and unrestrained in their disapproval and scepticism.


Ratan Tata was considered to have gained his position purely on the strength of his surname; he was incompetent, raged opponents both within and outside Bombay House, and he didn't possess an iota of the charisma of his uncle and predecessor, JRD Tata.


Nearly 20 years later, Ratan Tata has achieved almost everything on his 1991 agenda. At Rs 3.46 lakh crore (Rs 3.46 trillion), Tata Group revenue is 40 times the 1991 level, while net profit has gone up four times.





It is the largest Indian multinational conglomerate; more than 65% of the group's income comes from overseas and it has 98 operating companies (28 listed) spread across 56 countries in six continents.


In the past decade -- the decade that marked the glorious years of Ratan Tata -- nearly $18 billion was shelled out to acquire 22 companies worldwide, including Tetley Tea and Corus Steel in the UK, New York's Pierre Hotel and Jaguar Land Rover.


The Tata Group includes India's largest private steel company, the biggest auto manufacturer and the largest IT outsourcing firm.


"Ratan Tata outperformed JRD. He toppled people as strong as Russi Mody, thought out of the box and came up with path-breaking concepts like the Nano," says Bala V Balachandran, faculty member at Kellogg School of Management, and dean of the Great Lakes Institute of Management.


Not bad going for a man who was once likened to the clown in a circus (by his loudest detractor, Russi Mody). For Tata's successor -- whoever that turns out to be -- the bar's been raised sky high.


"Tata's job is the most difficult one in the country today. Whoever runs the Tata Group has to provide strategic leadership, direction and inputs on multiple businesses, which is hugely challenging," says Rajeev Gupta, managing director of private equity firm Carlyle India.


The new chairman may be relieved of the responsibility of running individual companies, but he or she will have to head a team of extraordinarily talented and able leaders.


Not only will the heir have to ensure continuation of the group's growth momentum, but also provide the direction and vision for future growth. It's not an easy task. But then, nor was Tata's.





A shaky start
Left to himself, Ratan Tata would probably have stayed on in the United States after training as an architect at Cornell University. But the son of deputy group chairman Naval Tata and the nephew of JRD Tata couldn't be allowed to work outside the group (he had an offer from IBM).
In 1962, Ratan joined the family business, working on the Tata Steel shopfloor at Jamshedpur, just one of several thousand employees.
He got his first independent assignment less than a decade later -- as director of National Radio and Electronics (Nelco), in 1971 -- but it was a mixed blessing. Nelco was in dire straits when Ratan came on board -- losses of 40% and barely 2% share of the consumer electronics market.
Just when he turned it around, the Emergency was declared. A weak economy and labour issues compounded the problem and Nelco was quickly near collapse again.
Ratan's next assignment was just as trouble-stricken. He was asked to turn around the sick Empress Mills. He did, but was refused the Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) investment required to make the textile unit competitive. Empress Mills floundered and was finally closed in 1986 (by which time the infamous Mumbai textile workers' strike had also taken its toll).
The two 'failures' haunted Ratan for decades. His track record was suspect, he was jinxed, said his baiters. "My first directorship was that of Nelco and the status of that company has forever been held against me. No one wanted to see that Nelco did become profitable, that it went from a 2% market share to a 25% market share," Tata said several years later.
The attacks became more vicious after 1981, when JRD stepped down as Tata Industries chairman, naming Ratan his successor -- in one leap, Ratan had moved to the head of the queue for eventual leadership of the entire Tata Group, and that was completely unacceptable to many.
So much so, that at one Tata Sons meeting, when Nelco's losses were being blamed on Ratan (although he came to the company much later), JRD had to step in and deflect the criticism.





Later, recalling the incident, Ratan was to remark, "Jeh came to my rescue and slowly turned around the whole conversation."
But even JRD's backing wasn't enough to help Ratan achieve many of his ambitions for the group. Foreseeing expansion of capital markets, which meant easier access to money for new projects, Ratan helped draw up a group strategic plan in 1983.
Among other things, it emphasised venturing into hi-tech businesses; focussing on select markets and products; judicious mergers and acquisitions; and leveraging group synergies.
Accordingly, Ratan promoted seven hi-tech businesses under Tata Industries in the eighties: Tata Telecom, Tata Finance, Tata Keltron, Hitech Drilling Services, Tata Honeywell, Tata Elxsi and Plantek.
But elsewhere in the group, his blueprint gathered cobwebs as companies -- many of which were run by their CEOs as independent fiefdoms under JRD's benevolent leadership -- blatantly ignored it or at best, paid lip service to the 1983 plan.
New businesses and M&As in these companies, if they happened, occurred independent of Ratan, not because of him.
Ratan's spell of bad luck continued -- even as his successes grew. He was steadily finding a place on the board of many group companies, having become a director at Tata Sons back in 1974.
In 1988, he took over from Sumant Moolgaokar as Telco chairman -- and promptly found himself at the centre of a prolonged labour dispute, perhaps the worst industrial relations slide in Tata history.

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Ratan stood firm and eventually the matter was resolved in the company's favour. In an interview some years ago, Ratan recalled that Telco was "the first company in which I could actually do something. In other companies, I was always put in a fire-fighting situation."
Back against the wall
Taking over from JRD as group chairman in 1991 didn't resolve matters either, even though it was a Tata Sons board decision to make him group chairman.
Tata Group historian R M Lala recalls speaking with JRD some 10 days after the announcement and asking whether Ratan had been chosen because of his integrity.
"Oh no, I wouldn't say that; that would mean the others did not have integrity," JRD replied. "I chose him because of his memory. Ratan will be more like me."
JRD may have seen his own reflection in his successor but others, both inside and outside Bombay House, did not, at least initially. "Who expected Ratan Tata to become such a towering figure in his own right? The first three or four years were engaged in struggles with the satraps," says Lala.
Individual company heads were larger-than-life personalities in their own right, and had ruled these satraps for decades: Russi Mody at Tata Steel, Darbari Seth at Tata Chemicals, Ajit Kerkar at Indian Hotels, and Nani Palkhivala at ACC. Getting them to toe a group line and work in tandem with other companies was next to impossible.
It didn't help that they were more experienced and, many believed, more deserving than Ratan to head the group. Indeed, in an interview a few years ago, Ratan recalled his surprise on hearing of his appointment: he had thought Palkhivala and Mody to be neck-and-neck in the race for the top post.
As it happened, Palkhivala's political views and Mody's clashes within the group worked against them. Mody, though, continued to be a thorn in the flesh of both JRD and Ratan. His battles with Ratan were loud, acrimonious and conducted in full public view, which went against the ethos of this low-key business house -- an inside joke at the time was that Russi Mody had become Rude-i Mody. JRD finally dismissed him in 1993.





Ratan enforced the long-dormant retirement age rule for all business heads and directors, which effectively dealt with Seth and Kerkar (ill-health hastened Palkhivala's departure).
But the crown remained shaky for several years -- there was conjecture as late as 1997 that Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry would oust Ratan and take over the mantle of Tata Group head. (Mistry is the single largest shareholder in Tata Sons and, incidentally, the father-in-law of Noel Tata, Ratan's half-brother and the frontrunner in the current succession race.)
Business as unusual
To his credit, Tata didn't let the criticism and internecine battles deflect him from his chosen path. On taking over in 1991, he dusted off the 1983 plan and updated it, taking the newly-opened economy into account.
Now, the thrust was equally on technology-driven leadership, global competitiveness and being among the top three domestically, regardless of the line of business.
That meant rationalising the Tata business structure. The remnants of the era of government controls combined with independent functioning of group companies in decades past could be seen in the way the group had grown till then -- unstructured, with overlapping business across multiple companies.
When Ratan took over, there were three group companies manufacturing cement; five were involved in pharmaceuticals, while nine companies operated in the IT space. One of his first acts was to sell Tomco; swift exits from pharma and textiles and, later, cement, followed.
Management consultancy McKinsey was brought on board to help with the reorganisation. The Tata Group is still a diversified, salt-to-software group, but now there is a method to the business expansion.
Tata also paid attention to brand Tata. By 1998, there was a single group logo and the Tata brand belonged to Tata Sons. Now, companies needed to sign brand equity and business promotion agreements with Tata Sons before they got use of the brand name.





And Ratan was choosy about its use (stepmother Simone's cosmetics business, Lakme, which was later sold, and half-brother Noel's retail business didn't make the cut).
Zia Mody, managing partner at law firm AZB & Partners, which has advised the Tatas on acquisitions like Corus and Jaguar Land Rover, believes the group-culture Ratan Tata has created will stay on as his legacy.
"He has institutionalised processes. The reputation of the group and its guiding principles are uppermost in his mind while taking decisions," she points out.
Business historian and writer Gita Piramal has a different take on Ratan Tata's legacy. "Tata put 'design' into the group -- in mergers and acquisitions, engineering or cars or anything else. It is a very forward-looking strategy, putting new competency in very old companies," she says.
Ratan the manager
Perhaps the secret of Ratan Tata's success lies in his ability to think big -- and small. While he guides the Tata Group to pick up the luxurious Pierre Hotel in New York, he's also driving the launch of the budget Ginger hotels in India.
He has the ability to envisage an automotive business that encompasses diverse businesses such as the iconic Jaguar and Land Rover marques on the one hand, the world's cheapest car the Nano, on the other, and hardy, rough-road trucks sandwiched in between.
JRD is admired for creating world-class companies that could be globally competitive at a time when India was still not thinking scale and was instead leaning towards a socialist set up.
In contrast, Ratan had the vision to foresee the direction the economy -- and policy -- was taking, consolidate the business accordingly, and embrace change to leap ahead.





The group was totally unprepared for liberalisation, which was knocking on the door when he took over. Ratan knew the Tatas required a radical change in mindset and he set out to work in that direction.
He streamlined the organisation by selling some businesses and rationalised the processes and functioning of the Tata Group.
That explains why it still remains among the top three business groups in the country while many have fallen by the wayside -- or dropped in the rankings -- in the post-liberalisation era.
Yet almost none of this change came at the cost of people or employee morale. Be it the fixing of a retirement age for various employees or the creation of a close-knit group that could meet the group's ambitions, Ratan created a nimble-footed organisation.
Insiders say that those who were asked to leave were given full salary till the age of 60.
It's no secret that the genesis of the Tata Group's blockbuster moves can be traced to him. Tata's first global venture -- the February 2000 purchase of Tetley -- had begun five years earlier when Ratan Tata made a $318 million bid for the tea company.
That didn't work out, but Ratan didn't lose heart and kept an eye on the company's activities. The deal was finally clinched at $430 million. Sheer perseverance may have made that deal come true.
The Corus deal is also a telling example. A close associate recalls Ratan calling Tata Steel MD B Muthuraman, who was on a trip to Hong Kong. "I've learnt that Corus is up for sale. Do you think we can look at it?" he asked. After some thought, Muthuraman replied that they could perhaps pick up a strategic stake.





Ratan had different plans. "We must buy that company. Think it over," he advised. The next morning, Muthuraman called Tata to say he was game. With no disrespect to Muthuraman and other leaders who have spearheaded the various companies in the group, it must be said that such gutsy deals can't be done without a strong group backing or reputation.
The Corus deal is proof of the kind of goodwill the Tata Group has created for itself across the world, not just within the country. Unlike the Mittal Steel bid for Arcelor, which created a huge furore, the Tata bid faced little opposition.
Although the Anglo-Dutch company had several plants in the United Kingdom, there was little attempt to stop the deal by either political parties or trade unions. The Corus management was happy to support the deal, placing its faith in the group's reassurance that there would be no layoffs and that pension shortfalls would be taken care off.
Not just that. Given that Tata Steel was bidding for a company four times its size, it could not have funded the entire deal. In fact, the company put up just 25% of the equity; the rest was funded through foreign debt.
And even that was to be funded only through cash flows from Corus, with no recourse to Tata Steel -- a reflection of the credibility the group enjoyed in global financial markets.
Tata's big deals are balanced by projects focusing on the lowest common denominator. In fact, Tata has been among the very few to perfectly understand the pysche and the needs of the Indian consumer -- and build successful businesses around those insights.
That is, by recognising that the big market opportunity lies in making desirable products affordable for a larger audience and creating successful products to cater to a market need -- be it the passenger-car foray with the Indica in the early 1990s, the promise to create a Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000) car or for that matter, making water filters that don't need electricity (for rural areas).
Hemendra Kothari, the doyen of investment banking in India who has worked on most Tata Group deals, has watched Tata's working style closely. "He is a very discerning person when it comes to decision-making. And once he has made up his mind, he is prepared to go all out to achieve his objective, be it Corus or Nano," he says.





Ratan's folly
Still, the markets have usually considered Tata to be out of his depth, questioning -- and dismissing -- his big, bold moves as 'Ratan's follies'.
The Indica was the first. People scoffed openly, when, in 1995, Tata spoke of building a passenger car with "the Zen's size, the Ambassador's internal dimensions and the price of a Maruti 800".
The scepticism seemed justified as project costs escalated to Rs 1,700 crore (Rs 17 billion) and Tata Motors posted Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) in losses -- the biggest splash of red in Indian balance-sheet history.
"Even within Tatas, people kept asking me to distance myself from the project so that when it failed I wouldn't be stuck with the blame. And when I refused to do that, they distanced themselves from me," Tata said in an interview a few years ago.
Ratan proved his detractors wrong, and how. Indica went on to become Tata Motors' great success story -- about a million units have been sold since its 1998 launch.
The group's global ambitions were greeted with similar scepticism. The Corus deal would lead the group to bankruptcy, critics declared: investors dumped Tata Steel shares after the announcement, and the share price plunged 11%.
And Tata was driving straight to disaster with the Jaguar-Land Rover deal: the brands were troubled, demand was low. Tata went on to prove everyone wrong. The group's international acquisitions are doing well, some have started making money.
When Tata took over, less than 5% of the group's revenues came from overseas. As the self-consciousness eased, the confidence grew. And with it, the scale of ambition.





The Ratan Tata of 15 years ago would never have gone for broke on deals like Corus and JLR. The JLR deal was audacious. Tata's interest was sparked as soon as the banks told the group that the marques were available. Why? According to him, "First, as Tata Motors in the number two SUV builder in India, owning [Land Rover] the gold standard of SUVs would be an enormous benefit to us. Second, to own a luxury brand with an immense history and heritage such as Jaguar is a virtually irresistible opportunity."
There's a personal angle to the "immense history": Ratan's father Naval was one of five people in India who took delivery of a new Jaguar XK120 in the late 1940s. "I remember the XK with great nostalgia," Tata commented to a Jaguar team. "I particularly remember the instruments on the dashboard and how stylish they looked."
Less than two weeks after the $3-billion deal was inked, Tata flew into the US on his private jet to meet Jaguar and Rover dealers across the country; for many dealers, it was their first ever interaction with a company executive.
Several years ago, in an interview, Tata dismissed the notion that he was a risk-taker. "There have been certain occasions when I have been a risk taker. Perhaps more so than some, and less so than certain others. It is a question of where you view that from. I have never been speculative. I have never been a real gambler in the sense that some very successful businessmen have been," he said.
Going by that logic, Ratan's 'follies' were decisions guided by prescience and not instinct and gut feel.
Of course, he's not perfect. Ratan Tata personally, and the Tata Group in general, have been bogged down by their share of controversies. When it comes to the environment, especially, the group gets a "can do better" grade.
In recent years, Tata Steel's joint venture with Larsen & Toubro to construct a port at Dhamra, Orissa, has come under the scanner for its proximity to two protected areas, one of which is the world's largest nesting site for the endangered Olive Ridley Turtle and the other India's second-largest mangrove forest.
A soda ash extraction plant in Tanzania also came under fire because of the threat it poses to a nearby lake and its flamingo population.





Tribal rights have also been a touchy subject. In 2006, several tribals were killed while protesting a wall being built by Tata Steel on land that was historically theirs. And Ratan Tata's pet Nano project was mired in controversy about land acquisition for the factory. After farmers in Singur, West Bengal, protested about forcible evictions and inadequate compensation, and Mamata Banerjee leapt into the fray, the Tatas pulled out of the state.
The company shifted the factory to Sanand, Gujarat, but Ratan Tata's subsequent praise for controversial Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi also drew criticism.
Situation vacant
It will be some months before even the shortlist for Ratan's successor is known. It's anybody's guess who will finally make the cut, but the qualities expected of this paragon are fairly clear to all.
In an interview a few years ago, Ratan had drawn up a somewhat simplistic checklist: someone "younger", ideally in his 40s, who believes in Tata values, demonstrates managerial ability and has the vision to run the Tata Group.
More recently, he also spelled out what the person doesn't need to be: a Tata, Parsi, or even Indian. "The successor should be the right person," was his emphasis at the Tata Chemicals AGM in August.
For the record, in its 142-year history, the Tata Group has had only five chairmen, all of whom were Parsis. The only non-Tata to make it to the top was Nowroji Saklatwala, who was chairman from 1932 to 1938. Of course, he was still family: Saklatwala was Jamsetji Tata's sister's son.
"There will be a vacuum if a non-Tata person is at the top. Any new person without the Tata name starts with a huge disadvantage," says Harish Bijoor, brand specialist and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults.
Still, considering there aren't too many Tatas around anymore, perhaps it does make sense to keep an open mind about candidates from outside the family. But not outside the company, and certainly not outside the country, seems to be the majority opinion.





Former Tata Steel CMD Russi Mody doesn't consider the lack of the right surname a handicap -- "I was a chairman although I wasn't a Tata," he says -- but is quite sure that only a company man will do for the job.
"This is an Indian company and an Indian should be appointed chairman. A company man will have loyalty to the group," he declares.
Preety Kumar, managing partner at global executive search firm Amrop, gives the neutral observer's viewpoint. "Internal succession always has smoother transition than an external one. In some of our work, successor appointments have been made two or three years before the succession, which helps change perceptions," she says.
Sanjay Teli, MD of executive search firm ESP Consultants, adds that group acceptance of and support to the heir apparent is critical. "Ratan Tata's personality and the changes he brought about helped attract the best talent to the group. Retaining some of those people may become an issue in the future," he warns.
Those and other important issues must be top of mind for the selection committee as it searches for the ideal candidate. The five-member panel -- comprising Tata Sons vice chairman NA Soonawala, group advisor Shirin Bharucha, British businessman Lord Bhattacharya, Tata Sons director Cyrus Mistry and Indian Hotels vice chairman R K Krishnakumar -- is expected to announce its choice by March 2011, which leaves room for a reasonably long handover period.
The actual selection process isn't public, but it is known that Tata and other senior executives have given their inputs on what to look for. "It's a scientific process," says a person familiar with the broad workings of the panel.
"The candidates will be evaluated on leadership qualities, management skills, operational performance and other criteria. There will be a matrix and the top scorer will get the top job."
As it happens, those are precisely the qualities that catapulted B Muthuraman to the top job at Tata Steel in 2001. When J J Irani's retirement was imminent, three people were considered likely successors -- Muthuraman and T Mukherjee, both executive directors, and Firdose A Vandrewala, who was responsible for sales and marketing, as well as new business initiatives at the company.





"Tata asked all three to prepare a presentation on the future of Tata Steel. Muthuraman's vision and roadmap was crisp, clear and the most appropriate," says a 30-year veteran of the company.
Background and prior domain expertise aren't make-or-break criteria for Ratan Tata, perhaps because he's living proof that track records can be deceptive or misinterpreted.
Anil Sardana was CEO of North Delhi Power when he was picked to lead Tata Teleservices (TTSL), a different industry altogether. He's already proved that the group's confidence in him was justified: from a user base of 15 million in August 2007 when he took over, TTSL now has 75 million.
The old order changeth
In many ways, the successor's task will be easier than Ratan's. It begins with the selection process itself. When Ratan took over from JRD, it was a succession fraught with intrigue, suspense and bad blood.
Resentment from established camps within the group at what was seen as an arbitrary decision was only compounded by Ratan's own admission of surprise at the announcement. The ongoing selection process may be equally opaque -- at least, at present -- but there is some logic and purpose behind it, which should make the panel's decision easier to accept.
The new chairman is also not likely to be battling cliques and fiefdoms within the group -- his predecessor has already taken care of that. Instead of the "corporate commonwealth" that Ratan inherited, the Tata Group now operates more or less as a cohesive unit, which will work to the successor's advantage.
Besides, there is now frequent churn at the board-level as senior members attain retirement age -- most Tata Sons board members are nearing 75, when non-executive directors have to retire. The heads of the three biggest companies in the group also retired last year: there's fresh blood at the top at Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services.
Also, when Ratan took over, the Tata family had neither financial nor managerial control over many group companies. Indeed, at one point in the 1980s, the Birlas owned more stock in Tisco than the Tatas (through Tata Sons) did. That vulnerability to outside interference is now greatly reduced: Tata Sons' holding in most group companies is now around 26%, sometimes more.
Clearly, the old order has changed. But some things will remain constant -- Tata stepped into the shoes of a giant in 1991. His successor will do likewise.





Ratan Tata, the person

• 1937 Born in Mumbai on Dec 28.
• 1962 Completes BSc in architecture from Cornell University.
• 1962 Joins Tata Group.
• 1971 Appointed Director of The National Radio & Electronics (Nelco).
• 1974 Becomes a Director in Tata Sons.
• 1975 Completes management programme from Harvard Business School.
• 1977 Given charge of Empress Mills.
• 1981 Named Chairman of Tata Industries.
• 1984 Sale of Tomco
• 1991 Takes over as group chairman from JRD Tata.
• 
  

From driving cars to flying choppers, from charity to business strategy, Ratan Tata does it all, and he does it passionately. But, despite being the cynosure of all eyes, very little is known about the Tata Sons chairman's personal life.
"He is a very private man. Even his closest business aides know little about what he does in his free time," says a veteran at the group.
It's anybody's guess what Tata will do after he steps down from the country's top private sector job. Those who know him well believe he will indulge in all his pet interests, things he didn't have enough time for while helming the Tata Group.
A bachelor, Tata continues to live in a flat in Colaba, filled with books and dogs. Cars and planes are his biggest -- and perhaps, only -- indulgences. He has eight or nine cars in his stable, including a Chrysler Sebring, Land Rover Freelander and Indigo Marina. (There are rumours of a metallic blue Ferrari California and a Maserati also finding their way into his collection.)
"Unfortunately, I do not get enough time to drive. Sunday is when I take my cars out. The cars that I really like, I tend not to let my chauffeur drive," he said to an auto magazine almost a decade ago.
Now he'll have time to spend with his cars, as well as his other mechanical passion, planes. Like his predecessor and uncle JRD Tata, Ratan is an accomplished pilot and flies both planes and helicopters.
He made his first solo flight at 17 and enjoys piloting his Falcon 2000. He has also flown the F-16 and F/A-18 fighters, getting into their cockpits at the Aero India 2007 show.




"I've got a type rating [a licence that allows the holder to fly specific aircraft] for the Falcon business jet, but lately I've been getting more into flying helicopters. I love the engineering in them and they're challenging to fly well," he says.
There's also likely to be more time for swimming and golf, post 2012. Tata used to scuba dive regularly, but punctured his eardrums "too many times". He's had to give that up, but still swims "a lot".
Growing Up
Ratan Tata grew up in the lap of luxury -- in the south Mumbai mansion that now houses Deutsche Bank, driven to school in a Rolls Royce.
All that was forgotten in the decade he spent in the US studying architecture at Cornell, taking on odd jobs -- including washing dishes -- to supplement the pittance that the Reserve Bank of India allowed as foreign exchange allowance.
Returning to India and joining the Tata Group didn't mean any substantial improvement in his standard of living. Ratan's first jobs were on the Tata Steel shop floor in Jamshedpur, where he is believed to have done all manner of tasks, including shovelling coal into the furnace. Which is perhaps why he retains the common touch, and focusses on innovations that will make the lives of ordinary people easier.
Although Ratan Tata will retire in 2012, he will continue to be associated closely with the Tata Group -- nearly 60% of the group holding company is controlled by two charitable trusts, the Sir Dorabji Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. Tata heads both.
That will mean that not only will he get the chance to sit in the audience during group company AGMs and ask questions (as he said he'd like to do), he will also be able to carry on the Tata family tradition of philanthropy.
"The Tata Group is associated with many charitable activities. It is logical that Tata will increase his involvement in that work," says an insider.
Tata may also spend a lot of time working with educational and business organisations with which he is associated. Clearly, Ratan Tata will be a busy man even after moving out of the hot seat.