P Chidambaram's (troubled) son Karti Chidambaram: A political heir with no clear career plan

SANGEETHA KANDAVEL

There's an apocryphal story involving Karti Chidambaram, the 40-year-old son of India's home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, which has done the rounds for years in Chennai. And that is the junior Chidambaram telling a visitor to come to the "kottai" (to mean Fort St George, the seat of the Tamil Nadu Government) to meet him the next time.

The story sums up what people who have interacted with Karti already know, he is ambitious. But his ambition hasn't translated into any politically significant role until now, not even at the state level. In fact, the first time he was discussed nationally was last week, that too on the back of Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy's charges that Karti was a beneficiary in the controversial Aircel-Maxis deal. Karti has since sued Swamy.

At his age, his father was already in his second year as member of parliament. Now, while the sons of his father's peers (those like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot) are already part of the Union ministry, Karti hasn't even taken the full political plunge. "He should have entered politics at an early age like his father. Even now he should take a constituency, nurture it and get into politics," says K Pandia Rajan, an MLA of the DMDK party.

A Dabbler

Rather, Karti has dabbled in many things including businesses. He runs a legal consulting firm called Chess Management Services (his profile mentions a bachelor's in business administration from the University of Texas and a bachelor's in law from Cambridge University). He is also the vice-president of the All India Tennis Association as well as the chief patron of the All India Karate-Do Federation. What more, he even heads the Tenpin Bowling Federation of India.

His businesses have been low-key affairs. Even those who know him told ET on Sunday they came to know of the full extent of his business interests (companies such as Ausbridge Holdings, Chess Health Care, Halidon, Kriya FMCG, Kaiser Surya Samudra, amongst others) only after the media reports during recent weeks.

Karti once started a public opinion forum called Karuthu (Tamil for opinion) with Kanimozhi, daughter of DMKleader M Karunanidhi, with much fanfare. It's now active just in the online space. The image of him being outspoken and debate-happy has stuck since then.

Fr Jegath Gaspar, who knows Karti for the past seven years, says, "He is one person with whom I can argue and still exist as a social political person. I have dealt with many young politicians but it's very difficult to criticise them and exist with them."

But critics call him brash. Political commentator Gnani Sankaran says, "Whenever he has been managing Chidambaram's election strategy, he has been known for having rubbed people on the wrong side, thanks to his aggressive behaviour."

Not Cadres' Man

The dynamics of politics in Tamil Nadu may not have been conducive for Karti's growth as a politician. Tamil Nadu is one of the few states in which Congress, the party that Karti and his father belong to, isn't one of top three parties. The party last held power in the State in 1967.

In the 2011 Assembly elections, Congress was part of a comprehensive alliance led by the DMK. Even then it was routed. Also, the local unit of the Congress is ridden with factionalism. In fact, two years back, the state Youth Congress leader charged Karti of an attempt to create groupism.

Whether he likes it or not, comparisons with his suave and sophisticated father are inevitable. Sankaran says, "Every year, during his birthday, you find a huge poster campaign around the city. But he is not considered to be popular with the cadres. That was the kind of image his father Chidambaram also had." What Chidambaram did manage to build was an impressive law practice.

A Congress leader in Tamil Nadu says, "His father is a big figure in the Congress and people always refer to him as PC's son. That's one reason why people assume he is still under his father's shadows."

The Aircel-Maxis controversy has surely not helped people change that opinion.

Investment Scam: Cicular trading of Aussie Bird

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-20/news/31214799_1_investment-scam-ponzi-circular-trading

Sangeetha Kandavel

CHENNAI: In Tamil Nadu, a highly literate and industrialised state with a propensity to fall for ponzi schemes, one more investment scam seems to be brewing. This time it centres around the emu, a large, flightless bird native to Australia and reputed to have as many uses as the wonder drug aspirin.

Across the southern state, indications are that there is a steady build-up of what is essentially circular trading of emus, something that is usually a precursor to an eventual collapse. Advertisements on television, Internet and pamphlets are touting the bird as the ultimate in investment.

Among those who fell for the spiel is Arjun, a 30-year-old software engineer from Chennai who bought 10 pairs of chicks investing Rs 2 lakh. He got his money back in two years, but now says there is something fishy about the whole scheme. "If everyone is selling the bird not to the end consumer but to people who are getting into farming, it doesn't sound good," he says.

Investment schemes for emus look remarkably similar to the ponzi rackets that have operated in the past. For an initial investment of, say, Rs 2 lakh for 20 pairs of chicks, an investor is promised total income of Rs 6.5 lakh in five years-essentially a tripleyour-money scheme. All an investor is supposed to do is return the 20 pairs to the company promoting the scheme every year and take a new set.

Emu farming is supposed to have debuted in India in the mid-1990s after emu slaughtering was banned in its home in Australia. Now, those in the business say there are 3,000 farms in the country, largely in Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat.

It is in the past two years that the hype has grown. Afarm owner near the hill station of Kodaikanal boasted that he has sold over 1.5 lakh emus so far. No order below 25 pairs of chicks is worth his while and payment has to be upfront.

Doubts Over Mkt's Existence

Among those contributing to the buzz is Susi Emu Farms in Perundurai, near Erode, which calls itself one of the largest emu farms in India. Its sales pitch is that "it fulfils dreams of people who are in search of projects providing quick profits on investments in this competitive world".

For Senthil, who relishes quick profits, emus are just what he was looking for. Recently, he paid Rs 1.2 lakh for five pairs of chicks from a farm just outside Chennai. In two years, he believes, each emu will be worth Rs 45,000.

Emus can grow to be as tall as humans and weigh up to 60 kg. Related to ostriches, they can live for 40 years and are fertile for half that period. Those peddling emus say it is a golden goose-its meat, eggs, feathers, toenails, skin and even oil are all valuable.

While software engineers and farmers alike are being lured to emu schemes, they are not asking if there is a real market for emu products. Such concerns have arisen once in a while but formal complaints have not been made. VK Shanmugam, the collector of Erode district, says the emu business is a matter of "serious concern" but since there are no complaints, no action can be taken.

Shanmugam says he is also intrigued by the fact that he doesn't see any of the birds though people seem to be investing in them. "I hear that people are depositing money but are not able to get receipts for that," he says.

The administration recently had a meeting with top police officials about the emu problem. Tamil Nadu has a rich history of ponzi schemes. Among the more notable ones is the collapse in 1998 of the Anubhav group which duped investors who put money in a teak plantation scheme of around Rs 400 crore.

Last year, a PTI report said the Maharashtra government ordered a CID inquiry into a likely Rs 200-crore emu farming scam in Nashik district.

The controversial scheme, run by a private company, involved a promise to triple investment in 45 days. Farm owners in Tamil Nadu estimate the number of emus in the state at around five lakh, or one bird for every 130 people in Tamil Nadu. Sceptics such as Shanmugam, however, don't buy that number.

V Rajapandi, the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Emu Association, said to be registered under the Societies Act and having 300 members, defends his business.

He says emu farming is a genuine business "if you do it in the right manner." "It has a huge market. Just because a handful of people say so, you cannot say the business is a ponzi scheme," he adds.

Rohan-Lakshmi to tie knot on June 5

The much talked about big ticket wedding between Lakshmi Venu, the only daughter of TVS Motors chairman Venu Srinivasan and Rohan Murthy, the only son of Infosys mentor N R Narayan Murthy will happen on June 5th in Chennai.

It is learnt that around 700 people, including family members have been invited for the wedding at the family house, near the woodlands hotel.

“The celebrations have already begun from Sunday,” said a source. Film art director, Thotta Tharani will do the interior and decoration work while cook’s from various countries will be flown down for the occasion.

Infosys and TVS are two very distinctive but well regarded corporate houses. Both are known to be well managed, each with their iconic head. As the GenNext from these two companies come together, it's a relationship that is more than strategic.

The couple who were introduced to each other through a common friend fell in love and had exchanged rings in a privately held ceremony in August 2010.

Sindhuja Rajaraman: Meet the 14-year old animator CEO

Meet 14-year-old Sindhuja Rajaraman, the CEO of Seppan, a Chennai-based animation company launched only in October last. And we’re not kidding. A ninth-standard student, she was adjudged the fastest 2D and 3D animator by software lobby Nasscom at the Gaming and Animation Conclave 2010 at Hyderabad. Interestingly, she is also a brand envoy of design software major Corel Software.

As head of this nascent firm, today she may give tough competition to some of the top CEOs when it comes to taking business decisions, that too quickly. But where did she start?

“It all started five years back when I wanted to take my mind off studies and do something new. My father, who is a cartoonist, instilled in me the passion to do animation and taught me the entire process,” she says. “I have tried my luck with animation even before I started learning it prossfessionally. I did my first mini animation project when I was in sixth standard. It was on ‘do not disturb animals’,” she recalls.

Early Months

After a few amateur moves last year, Sindhuja made a Guinness Book record attempt for the fastest animation film. The project was for Exnora, a Chennai-based non-profit organisation, to mark the occasion of 10-10-2010. “I created a three-minute animation film in 10 hours. It has gone to the Guinness team and I’m still waiting for them to announce the final results,” she says proudly.

Things started rolling right after that when Sindhuja was offered by First Planet to work as Seppan’s chief executive. With an investment of Rs 10 lakh, First Planet seeded the firm and the entire thing happened within a day. “I did not even know what a CEO meant that time,” she says. And in a shirt span, she is handling three projects – Virtual Street, Garbo.in and First Planet.

The Virtual Street project is about Thyagaraj Nagar, the shopping hub of Chennai where Seppan plans to showcase the entire area through animation while Garbo.in is a job for a Chennai based NGO to promote waste segregation methods.
The third project is for her parent company. “It is a small animation film for freshers who want to join a new company. The film would speak about company etiquette and other things that a fresher should know,” she noted.

The Team

“At Seppan, we are a team of 10 people and we will be adding more people as and when the need arises. Though my teammates are older they always take my assistance and, in turn, they also guide me. They have taught me what corporate world is and what team management is.

In fact, I draw a lower salary than them,” she says and in a positive tone adds I think I’ll be the only CEO who is paid less than the employees.

Even while talking she is very cautious and interrupts in between saying “please don’t quote me on how much salary I draw.”

People who work with her also have loads of praise. Colleague M Partheepan says: “Though I have five years’ experience, there is lot that I have learnt from her. She possesses lot of technical skills which even I did not know.” “She is very creative and comes out with ideas within fraction of seconds during our routine meetings,” he added.

Her mentor Kumaran Mani, who helped her with the setting up of Seppan, says, “Initially she was a little uncomfortable being a CEO. But now she has learnt the tricks of the trade. When she meets a client she immediately shakes hands, collects their cards and neatly puts it in her folder.” Software lobby Nasscom’s regional director for Chennai, K Purushothaman, tells us that Sindhuja is very passionate and committed in what she is doing. “She has mastered the domestic animation skills. Now she has to sharpen her knowledge and skills on what’s happening in the international market,” he said.

To Stay An Entrepreneur

Though some firms have approached her to join them, she is not too keen. “I don’t want to join any big corporates now. I want to be free like a 14-year-old girl should be. I don’t want to be overloaded with work. After 18, I will take up bigger projects,” she says.

Before signing off like every other professional, she says, “I want to make a mark in this industry. When I’m twenty-year-old, I want Seppan to have a turnover of at least Rs 1 crore.”Her aim now is to study at the Vancouver Film School in Canada and specialise in animation.

But doesn’t she want to go to school and play out like other kids? “My school has given me an exemption. I go for tuitions after work and go to school to write my exams alone. One needs to sacrifice certain things to chase dreams. I also like to play like other kids and that’s why I chose to play with animation,” she answers.

Chat with PYT

Last weekend, I had a very James Bond-ish experience. I had been chatting with this PYT from a rival publication for over a month or so. (If you don't know what a PYT is, you are senile!)

Out of the blue, the lady in question asks yours truly whether he would be interested to join her for a drink or two on Saturday evening. Now, with all humility, yours truly does not encounter situations of such abundant possibilities on a regular basis. So the reply was an unequivocal 'yes' – a bit too unequivocal perhaps, on hindsight.

With punctuality completely unbecoming of a journo, I turned up for the rendezvous at the decided hour. PYT arrived half an hour later, looking more PYT-ish than ever before.

Conversation turned to work, which in business journalism circles, strictly means the Satyam saga. Now, any biz scribe worth his salt will tell you how he had predicted Ramalinga Raju's downfall a couple of years ago. Though I tried gamely not to show off my proximity to the Rajus, a couple of pegs of good ole' VAT 69 had me blabbering like a you-know-who.

PYT was listening with rapt attention, scribbling once in a while, as I waxed eloquent about my scoops, both real and imaginary. All this while, she had hardly touched her bottle of breezer.

"So who's been feeding you with all the dough from inside Satyam?" PYT asked as if she was asking what day of the week it was. "Just between you and me, it was Mr.XYZ's PA, who incidentally happens to be from the same place as I," was the prompt reply. "But just between you and me," I added, as my muddled mind tried to make out if I had just committed hara-kiri.

Anyways, to cut a long and sorry story short, it would suffice to say that this peccadillo of mine set off a chain of unfortunate incidents which resulted into Miss PYT being promoted to correspondent from trainee reporter, Mr. PA being shunted out of his office and yours truly searching for new sources and thinking of what could have been.

Women expanding presence in IT sector.

Women are making a strong presence in the IT, ITES and BPO sectors. Statistics reveal that women are equally competing with their male counterparts and have become a major growth catalyst for the companies. Apart from this companies are supporting women in managing their work and meeting their family and social demands.

i-Flex Solutions has about 24 per cent of women employed across various departments. The company had 441 women employees in 2005, which is now up by 678.

"The workplace in i-Flex provides gender diversity and having women employees closes the gap between the workplace and marketplace," says Mr Sanjoy Bannerji, general manager, corporate human resources, i-Flex Solutions.

He added that "there are some male stereotypes about certain kinds of job being more suited for men and these myths are now being broken. In some of the service-oriented jobs, women tend to relate better emotionally with customers. Besides they tend to be more loyal to organisations," he added.

The biggest reason why more women are entering this sector is because of the women-employee friendly policies like flexibility to allow break in service and extra maternity leave on need-basis and policies that show zero tolerance on any sexual abuse. Companies have also launched various initiatives like maternity benefits, insurance coverage that includes cover for their parents or in-laws, Baby’s Day Out — a special facility allowing women to bring their children to the office.

According to Mr Puneet Jetli, vice-president and head, people function, MindTree Consulting, "In 2004-05, Mindtree had about 18 per cent of the workforce comprising of women. In the last 2-3 years, there has been a steady increase in the percentage of women on a planned basis. "Over the next two years, we want 25 per cent of our staff to be women," he said.

Likewise in Perot Systems, the company has developed the leadership talent among women employees. According to Ms Sheela Singh, head of HR in Perot Systems there are 23.03 per cent of women who are working in their organisation and woman participation is very high at all levels.

Employee Job Referral Programme

Employees in call centres and BPO companies are making quick moves through Employee Referral Programmes (ERP) and saving time for the recruiters. The process helps employees to earn as well as refer a friend. Employees are motivated and it makes them feel that they are a highly valued resource.

The referral process is easy. The employee needs to submit the resumé of the candidate whom he is referring along with the badge number (a unique number given to each employee). Then the person is called for an interview and if selected the amount is credited to the employee after the person referred completes six months with the organisation.

Over the past three years, employee referrals at HCL Technologies Ltd have increased at the rate of 10 to 15 per cent. The company has hired more than 30 per cent of the staff through ERP.

According to HCL Technologies Ltd RMG head B. Ravishankar, "Referral campaigns are an integral part of the recruitment drive and the programme has been well received by employees. It is evident from the huge number of referrals, which we get when we organise for the drives that are held across India every quarter."

Each HCL employee gets anything between Rs 8,000 to Rs. 30,000 for their references.

Perotsystem has a unique ERP called ARC (associate referral challenge) that has contributed to almost about 45 per cent of their recruitment. The company’s employee referrals have grown from 10 per cent to 45 per cent.

Perotsystems Business Process Solutions managing director Vardhaman Jain said, "One of the key reasons for the success of ARC scheme is that our associates can communicate the job requirements to their acquaintances and friends in a much better manner."

"Any candidate walking in for an interview and refers 10 potential candidates is given on the spot gifts," said Mr Jain.

Cognizant Technology Solution recruits approximately 50 per cent of its experienced hires through its employee referral scheme each year. In the last three years, over 8,000 professionals have been recruited through the employee referral programme. The incentives range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 depending on the level at which the candidate is referred.