Narotam Sekhsaria is chairman of ACC Ltd, Ambuja Cements Ltd, and Ambuja Cement Foundation. He also manages the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation, a philanthropic funding agency. Learn from anyone, anywhere, anytime. The Ambuja Story is a book written by an industrialist whose memory is sharp as a tack. The detailing of episodes and anecdotes is astoundingly vivid! The book is a window to a lively mind and a resilient life, lived with a glass of fine whiskey. And it is really funny in parts; for instance, Narotam Sekhsaria’s grandfather was one of the donors to the school that he attended. So gran used an arbitrary age criterion to enroll him at the age of 5 in class 5! What a shortcut! Also read: Veterans Unpacked | Narotam Sekhsaria: I would be on top of AI and data mining today Perhaps this is one of the ‘earthiest’ books you will read. Let me explain - there is a ‘son of the soil’ flavour that is peppered all over the book. Tradition is upheld not for its own sake, … [Read more...] about Storyboard18 | Bookstrapping: The Ambuja Story – How a Group of Ordinary Men Created an Extraordinary Company
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Bigger food crisis can be averted If Asia remembers not to panic
- A + A (May 26): The world’s food problem is already severe as prices jump and protectionism flares but there’s a good chance governments can stop it from getting way worse if they heed a lesson from the crisis in 2008 — don’t panic. With a gauge of global prices already at a record following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a spate of nations have moved to curb exports in crops from wheat and sugar to cooking oils, exacerbating security risks for the rest of the world. Bad weather is a concern, too. Still, while wheat, corn and soy have soared, rice, a staple for more than three billion people, has so far been more stable. If nations do not panic or start hoarding, they can stop the current crisis from becoming a rerun of the one in 2008, when rice prices soared to put the region’s food security at serious risk, according to Harvard University Professor Emeritus Peter Timmer, who’s studied food security for decades. “The 2008 lesson is: Do not spook the market,” … [Read more...] about Bigger food crisis can be averted If Asia remembers not to panic
The Good Girls: Sonia Faleiro’s chilling chronicle of the 2014 hanging of two teens in Uttar Pradesh
London-based author Sonia Faleiro’s latest book The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing (Penguin Hamish Hamilton, ₹599) is the tragic, real-life story of two village girls, who, in the summer of 2014, were found hanging from a tree in the Katra Sadatganj village in the Badaun district of western Uttar Pradesh. After several conflicting eyewitness interrogations, post-mortem examinations and CBI inquiries, the authorities concluded that the girls had taken their own lives—they were afraid that being found with a boy would bring dishonour to them and their families. Several people questioned this verdict. Padma (16) and Lalli (14)—whose names have been changed in accordance with Indian law—were inseparable. Cousins and best friends, “people called them Padma Lalli, like they were one person.” One evening, the girls were given permission to attend a village fair—presumably the best day of their lives—after which they returned home. When they went to relieve themselves in the … [Read more...] about The Good Girls: Sonia Faleiro’s chilling chronicle of the 2014 hanging of two teens in Uttar Pradesh
The Collison Brothers Built Stripe Into A $95 Billion Unicorn With Eye-Popping Financials. Inside Their Plan To Stay On Top
Billionaire brothers John and Patrick Collison built Stripe into one of the world’s most-hyped, highest valued — and profitable! — startups, worth some $95 billion. Now they must stave off going from disruptor to disrupted. I t’s just before five o’clock, and Stripe Cofounder John Collison is preparing to address his hundreds of Ireland-based employees on the top floor of his headquarters in Dublin’s “Silicon Docks” District. Such regular Friday town halls, which are also simulcast to New York, San Francisco, Singapore and anywhere else its 7,000 employees want to tune in from over Zoom, are an almost sacred tradition at Stripe, the payments company that Collison cofounded with big brother Patrick in 2010. With Patrick away getting married, it’s up to John, 31 and with a dusting of gray hair now topping his boyish face, to field questions. It could get contentious: There’s a social media “kerfuffle” playing out over Twitter this week: Stripe has been accused in a … [Read more...] about The Collison Brothers Built Stripe Into A $95 Billion Unicorn With Eye-Popping Financials. Inside Their Plan To Stay On Top
[WHY] Is it really safe to leave valuables lying around in Korea?
Parcels are left in front of a door. In Korea, packages are left generally outside to avoid unnecessary contact during the Covid-19 pandemic. [SHUTTERSTOCK] Leave a package on your doorstep in Korea and see what happens — nothing, it will still be waiting for you untouched a week later. The idea that parcels can be left outside unattended without any risk in Korea isn't new, but the practice has increased dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic as companies ditched direct deliveries. Delivery workers no longer ring people’s doorbells and hand over packages. Instead, most e-commerce and logistics companies including Coupang, CJ Logistics, Hanjin Transport and Lotte Global Logistics have changed to a contact-free delivery system. Simply leaving packages on people’s doorsteps means the delivery is finished, limiting unnecessary contact that might spread Covid-19. Other countries have changed their delivery policies during the pandemic, but their solutions aren’t as simple as … [Read more...] about [WHY] Is it really safe to leave valuables lying around in Korea?
Why did Tesla drop its EV plans in India?
Representative image The constant tug-of-war between the Indian government and Elon Musk appears to have finally ended, although it’s hard to determine who here has lost the battle. Earlier today, a report by Reuters stated that Elon Musk has decided to put his Tesla India plans on hold after a prolonged stalemate with the government, which didn’t give in to his demands for reduced tariffs. The news has cast a dark shadow on the prospects of foreign EV brands setting-up shop in India, with Tesla having been the most anticipated player to enter the Indian EV market. While Musk himself hasn’t commented on the matter, Tesla’s exhortations for lower import duties on cars over the $40,000 bracket are a matter of public record. The brand had earmarked February 1st of this year to make a decision based on the annual budgetary hearing. Given that its demands for concessions went unheeded, the brand reassigned those involved with its India operations to other tasks as Tesla continues … [Read more...] about Why did Tesla drop its EV plans in India?
Young talent still open to joining startups but are asking more questions amid layoffs, funding freeze
Since February, over 5,000 employees were fired or forced to resign from the startup workforce. She is 35 years old and has worked for four years with an e-commerce company whose human resources (HR) department called her and gave her a day to resign. “They said they will pay till today but they can’t employ me anymore. Can they do this?” asked the employee. She refused to resign and was eventually relocated from Mumbai to Gurgaon. The company said it was shutting down some of its offices. The employee’s colleagues were less fortunate; they were let go the next day. Her identity has not been disclosed to protect her job. Over the past few months, startups have laid off thousands of employees after a boom year in which they received multiple job offers and been hired for sky-high salaries and with offers of incentives like BMW cars. But now, layoffs and shutdowns have become the norm in the face of a funding crunch. Recruiters and investors in the startup ecosystem … [Read more...] about Young talent still open to joining startups but are asking more questions amid layoffs, funding freeze