Akshay Kumar Turns 48: All You Need To Know About His All Time Blockbusters

For almost two decades, the three Khans — Aamir, Shahrukh and Salman — have been the reigning kings when it comes to delivering blockbusters. Perhaps, Akshay Kumar, along with Ajay Devgn, has managed to strike gold at the box office and make big bucks. Especially popular with the non-resident Indian (NRI) crowd, Akshay Kumar made his debut in Bollywood with the 1991 film ‘Saugandh’. This was followed by thriller film ‘Khiladi’. From stunt hero to superstar, Akshay Kumar has come a long, long way. The versatile Bollywood actor has always been open to experimenting. Having started as a novice, he built himself into a brand.  His greatest strength is that he is a master of the martial arts. The actor used his skills best in the initial phase of his career. At a time when the Bollywood had never been introduced to the concept of an action hero,  Akshay Kumar stormed in and took over the scene. Bollywood's most prolific hunk turns 48 today. Here is a list of top grossers of Akshay Kumar Rowdy RathoreAction movie Rowdy Rathore is the biggest grosser of Akshay's career so far. Akshay showcased his talent for action as well as comedy in a double role. The film was produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali who has also produced Gabbar Is Back. Box office collections: Rs 133 crore HolidayAkshay was convincing as the no-nonsense army officer for whom country came first in the dramatic thriller Holiday. The film was produced by Vipul Shah and raked in over Rs 100 crore. Box office collections: Rs 112 crore Housefull 2Akshay Kumar’s best films are with producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director Sajid Khan. Together, they delivered Houseful 2, the first film to cross the Rs 100 crore mark. Box office collections: Rs 106 crore BabyThe film was a classy entertainer. The only song-less film of the actor to have done good business, Baby missed the Rs 100 crore mark by just a few crores. Box office collections: Rs 95 crore HousefullThe trio of Sajid Nadiadwala, Sajid Khan and Akshay Kumar has an impeccable record. One of the biggest hits of 2010, it has spawned a franchise, with Akshay agreeing to be in the third part of the series as well. Box office collections: Rs 78 crore WelcomeWelcome Back has John Abraham in the lead, but Akshay Kumar set the tone in Welcome, where he joined hands with Anees Bazmee for yet another laugh riot. The actor took a big risk in playing a submissive character. His chemistry with Katrina Kaif worked well too. Box office collections: Rs 75 crore Singh Is KinngAother film where the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif pairing worked very well was Singh Is Kinng, also directed by Anees Bazmee.Box office collections: Rs 74 crore EntertainmentDuring the promotion of the film, Akshay Kumar announced that the dog was the main lead in Entertainment. It picked up as kids took a liking to the film and it had a stable run at the box office for a few weeks. It broke quite a few records on satellite television. Box office collections: Rs 72 crore Khiladi 786Akshay Kumar has enjoyed a steady run with the Khiladi series over the last two decades. Much was therefore expected of Khiladi 786. The film got mixed reviews. Box office collections: Rs 65 crore

Markets Bounce Back After Days Of Volatility

Sensex surges 424 points, Nifty up 129 points on back of global and domestic positive sentiment Finally, investors can breathe a sigh of relief as the capital markets on Tuesday (Sep 8) registered gains of nearly 2 per cent after days of volatility on the bourses. In the initial hours, benchmarks kept trading in a narrow range but as the day progressed, the markets made a strong bounce back due to positive sentiments prevailing in the domestic and international market. The S&P BSE Sensex surged 424.06 points or 1.70 per cent to close at 25,317.87, while the broader Nifty closed at 7,688.25, up 129.45 points or 1.71 per cent. Back at home, the rise in banking stocks led to improved sentiments which later got intensified with the participation from capital goods, power, realty and metal counters. In the international market, on the other hand, Chinese shares rose nearly 3 per cent bringing in the much required relief for investors, even if it means temporarily. Experts said sentiments were boosted as investors were optimistic about the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with various stakeholders ranging from business leaders, bankers, economist and other government representatives. The meeting agenda was to discuss global economic scenario and their expected impact on Indian economy along with possible opportunities & threats out of those events. Additionally, appreciation in Indian rupee against dollar too supported the markets. “After yesterday’s decline below its crucial support, Nifty made a strong come back on Tuesday and closed around the day’s high,” said Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities. “Sustainability around 7600 subsidies the risk of further downside and help index to make a base for recovery,” he added. While one section of experts say traders should maintain positive approach, another section also says that they should adopt a wait and watch policy and await clear cues going forward. With the current volatility in the works, there has also been speculation that there may be a further drop in the market before going up again. All in all, this is the time to sit and watch. However, having said that, investors can also cash in on this volatility as it also provides a great opportunity for them to also pick up quality stocks.

Modi Asks Industry Captains To Take Risk, Invest More And Create New Jobs

Industry asks government to invest more in agriculture, irrigation, food processing, and infrastructure In the backdrop of the global economic turmoil, including the one in India’s backyard, China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (September 9) stressed the need for capitalising on the opportunity that the prevailing global economic scenario presented to the country. Speaking at the end of a three-hour meeting on “Recent Global Events: Opportunities for India” that was attended by who’s who of Indian industry, in addition to Modi’s senior Cabinet colleagues, civil servants, economists and top bankers, the PM said that there was a need to further strengthen Indian economy, even as he appealed to the private sector to “increase more investments” in the country. The PM hoped that the private sector would contribute more in job creation in the country, even as it was felt that the maximum avenues would be created in the MSME sector. The bankers were specially asked to cater to the MSME sector and the unorganised sector. “The Prime Minister stressed on the importance of job creation, MSME sector, and Make in India, for India,” said Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha, after the meeting. “The Prime Minister urged all the stakeholders to work together to build India,” he added. “Prime Minister has said that industry must take risk and increase investments... We must go out and invest. Industry has a role to play,” said CII president Sumit Mazumder. ASSOCHAM president Rana Kapoor said that Prime Minister asked industry to “catalyse risk taking ability”. The three-hour session began with a power-point presentation by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramaniam, followed by interventions of top industry captains. Top economists including Niti Aayog’s Arvind Panagariya and Bibek Debroy gave their own assessments of the prevailing economic situation. It was felt that India was relatively untouched by the global economic meltdown and there was only a transient impact, like the one on markets. “Extreme volatility is the norm. (But) India is a lesser-impacted country… (Because) our fundamentals are strong,” said Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, referring to the proceedings of the meeting. In all, twenty seven speakers analysed the prevailing global events and how they impacted the Indian economy. Majority of the speakers felt that the government must concentrate more and invest more in agriculture, irrigation, food processing, and infrastructure, said Jaitley, talking to the media, after the PM’s interaction with India Inc. More needs to be done in ease of doing business, it was felt. Most of the industry captains felt that the GST would go a long way in boosting the economy. There was not much discussion about the land bill, although one speaker did point out that states ought to be given more freedom in other legislations too, like they are being asked to enact their own land laws. Stressed sectors like steel and textiles needed to be de-stressed, it was felt. Many of the industry captains wanted a change in the definition of corruption, in the Prevention of Corruption Act. The government representatives said that it was already being done. The industry representatives wanted a new bankruptcy code. “The main issues discussed during the meeting were slowdown in China, how to convert the present global situation into an opportunity, ease of doing business and ways to boost agriculture,” said Majumder. “China was discussed. On how it should be tackled and whether it’s an opportunity for us. But Prime Minister did say that somebody’s pain should not be our gain. So we should look at it as an opportunity and we should move forward on that,” he said. Industry captains flagged off various issues. ITC’s Y C Deveshwar wanted the government to focus more on the food processing network in the country and the logistics part of it. GAIL India chairman B C Tripathi stressed the need for strengthening the gas infrastructure in the country. Some of them wanted MNREGA to be used for skill development. Another suggestion was to popularize skill development as a mass movement, in rural India. Earlier, in his presentation, Subramanian said that the big opportunity for India is its untapped potential, including in the infrastructure sector. The chief economic advisor said that after the recent turmoil, prices of coal, cement, steel etc had come down, which would boost infrastructure. Among the industry leaders in the brain storming session were Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata Group’s Cyrus P Mistry, Aditya Birla Group head Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Airtel and ITC chief Y C Deveshwar. Among Modi’s Cabinet colleagues, Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari, Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were present, in addition to Jaitley and Sinha. Others who attended the meeting were BHEL chief B Prasad Rao, ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, Aditya Birla Groupchief economist Ajit Ranade, and Subir Gokarn of Brookings Institute were among the economists/experts present at the meeting. Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian as well as Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagriya and member Bibek Debroy were also present there. 

Ravi Shankar Prasad On The Impact Of Digital India And The Way Forward

IPG Mediabrands Appoints Mat Baxter As Global Chief Strategy & Creative Officer

IPG Mediabrands worldwide has created a new global position within the media group, and appointed Mat Baxter as Global Chief Strategy & Creative Officer. Mr Baxter’s appointment follows Henry Tajer’s recent announcement that John Sintras was appointed IPG Mediabrands’ president, global business development and product innovation. Both the new appointments are New York based, reporting to Henry Tajer, Chief Executive Officer. Mr Baxter’s role sees him take responsibility for the network’s overall strategic product and the quality of its work for clients. “Mat Baxter is a unique executive,” said Mr Tajer. “I cannot name a more effective strategic thinker who is so totally focused on driving the best possible results for clients. The fact is that Mat has already positively impacted the performance of our business at the international level and on major clients. His new position in New York is a global platform for his talents and I am looking forward to working with him in our senior management team,” he added. Mr Baxter joins from UM Australia where he was CEO for nearly five years. Under his leadership UM Australia doubled in size and attracted blue-chip clients like Coca-Cola, LEGO, News Corporation and ING Direct. “This is a dream job for me,” said Mr Baxter on his appointment. “IPG Mediabrands is engineering a major transformation right now. A big part of that transformation is about recalibrating our product for the new world of marketing and ensuring we foster a world-class creative culture. I’m hugely excited to be working alongside so many talented people in our network to make sure that happens,” he added. Before Mr Baxter joined UM he was Chief Strategy Officer at MediaCom Australia and prior to that was Founding Partner and Asia-Pacific CEO of Naked Communications. In parallel, UM Australia has appointed Ross Raeburn, currently commercial director of IPG Mediabrands Australia, CEO of UM Australia. 

Leo Burnett Launches Leo Burnett Experience; Vandana Verma To Lead

The Leo Burnett Group India has launched Leo Burnett Experience, a specialist unit that will focus on rural marketing, activation, events and exhibitions across metros and 5,000 small towns and cities. Leo Burnett Experience has a pan-India presence with a team of 40 professionals working on some iconic brands in the country such as Dabur, Vodafone, Uninor, McDonald’s, ITC Foods, OnePlus, Amazon, P&G, Fiat, Axis Bank, Ruchi Group, and Bajaj Discover. Leo Burnett Experience offers a unique solution for brands and operates under its global philosophy of ‘Play, Buy, Share’. Vandana Verma, Executive Vice President, Leo Burnett Experience, will oversee the division’s operations. She will report to Group Chief Executive Officer Saurabh Varma and will be based out of Leo Burnett India’s Mumbai office. Apart from Vandana Verma, the leadership team of Leo Burnett Experience includes Nishith Sharma (National Creative Director), Ankit Grower (Head of North and East), Pratik Maitra (Head of South), Sandesh Shetty (Head of National Operations) and Kiran Dodiya (Head of West). Saurabh Varma said, “One of our key HumanKind pillars is participation. It is my belief that the future is in creating experiential platforms. Our unique methodology of ‘Play, Buy, Share’ gives Leo Burnett Experience a truly differentiated offering. Already it is the fastest growing part our business. And our ambition is to add technology to create immersive experiences for consumers.” Vandana Verma shared some insights on the division’s unique offering and said, “ROI is the biggest black hole in India’s experiential industry. None of the existing agencies seem to effectively manage crisis and identify likely risks that affect ROI. At Leo Burnett Experience we give foremost importance to foreseeing risks and managing real time crisis to maximise the output for clients. Our revenue growth has been significant in the last 18 months. Going forward we will build on this momentum and surpass the industry average growth of 25 per cent. We define our objectives clearly and develop strategies based on HumanKind’s philosophy of building brands and changing human behaviour using creativity. As for the most exciting opportunity – it is the rural markets, where brands are increasingly demanding strategy based experiential services – a big gap in the industry which we will address. These are surely exciting times at Leo Burnett Experience.” 

Fontana Gruppo, Italy & Bagla Group Form Strategic Partnership For Fasteners Biz

Fontana Gruppo, Italy and Bagla Group have signed definitive agreements to enter into a strategic partnership for the Fasteners Business in India.   Bagla Group, led by Rishi Kumar Bagla, is a leading automotive component supplier based in Western and Northern India and has interests in aluminum die casting, automotive fasteners, automotive electricals, refrigeration products. The group has several domestic automotive OEMs as customers including Bajaj, Fiat, Volkswagen, Maruti etc. as well as international OEM and Tier 1 customers including Chrysler, Rotax, GPM, Magna, OMR etc.   Fontana Gruppo of Italy is the global technology leader in Fasteners Business, having revenues of about 1 billion USD, over 4,200 employees and 20 production plants based in Europe, in the United States, in Mexico, in Brasil and now in India as well as a sales organization in all continents.  Its key customers are most of the world leading OEMs including FCA, Volkswagen Group, Ford, General Motors, Caterpillar, RNPO, PSA, Daimler, BMW, Tata, CNH, Cummins, Bajaj and the most important Tiers 1 and General Industries. Fontana Gruppo has substantially scaled up its international operations through the acquisition of Acument Global Technologies in 2014, the largest fasteners company in the USA, with plants in the USA, Mexico and South America, and is now focused on expanding in key Emerging Markets of the world. Speaking on the occasion, Giuseppe Fontana, Vice Chairman of Fontana Gruppo, said, “The strategic partnership with Bagla Group in India is a key milestone in our strategy to increase our footprint in Emerging Markets.  India is the most promising economy in the world at this stage and we are committed to serve our global customers having a presence in India.  Additionally, the Fontana Gruppo proposes to use the local manufacturing capabilities and engineering expertise in India to serve its customers in various countries.” Rishi Kumar Bagla remarked that, “The partnership with Fontana Gruppo would enable the fasteners business of Bagla Group to acquire necessary technological expertise, size and scale, to become the largest fasteners manufacturer in India.  We are excited to partner with the most reputed fasteners company in the world and bring joint expertise of global technology and Indian manufacturing to automotive and industrial customers.  This partnership is in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative being aggressively promoted by the Indian government and will endeavor to become a preferred supplier of high quality fasteners to customers across the globe.” BMR Advisors, together with its Italian network firm, Translink Corporate Finance acted as financial and structuring advisors to the Bagla Group, while BMR Legal was the Legal advisor to the Bagla group.   CFO SIM and Yarpa acted as financial advisors to Fontana Gruppo. Studio Santa Maria and Dua Associates were the Legal advisors to Fontana Gruppo.  

PM Modi In US From September 24-30, Will Look To Resolve Solar Panel Row

The issue of level-playing field for US solar equipment manufacturers following the World Trade Organization's (WTO) ruling against India will be taken up during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US later this month. Narendra Modi will be in the US from September 24-30. According to a report in The Telegraph, commerce ministry officials said India was likely to appeal against the dispute settlement panel's ruling, which could offer a two-year breather to India. There can also be a bilateral arrangement with the US because it is an important trading partner. Last month, a WTO panel has ruled against India in a dispute raised by the US over the country's solar power programme, requiring the government to offer a level playing field to both foreign and domestic manufacturers of solar panels. The US filed a complaint in the WTO in February 2014 alleging discrimination by India's national solar mission against American products. The US raised the dispute over the Indian government's imposition of local content requirements for solar cells and solar modules. The Centre has offered financial support of up to Rs 1 crore per megawatt (MW) to the implementing agency for setting up large solar capacities by placing orders with domestic manufacturers. WTO members are not supposed to insist on national content requirements that discriminate against foreign products. Governments are also required to provide "national" treatment, under which imports must be treated on a par with domestically manufactured products. Officials maintained that the WTO ruling would not have an impact on the ambitious target to raise solar power generation capacity by five times to 1,00,000 MW by 2022 at an investment of around Rs 6 lakh crore. After reaching the target, India will become one of the largest green energy producers, surpassing several developed countries. The US is keen on grabbing a slice of this market, according to several reports. India is vital to the US because it is the second-largest export market for US solar products and its national solar programme — which is among the most ambitious in the world — is set to grow 20-fold during the next decade. Solar power has triggered a series of trade disputes as countries around the world try to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by developing homegrown renewable power industries. This is the second case that India has lost to the US at the WTO. In June, the WTO's appellate body upheld an earlier ruling against an Indian ban on poultry meat and eggs supplied by American producers. The ban had been imposed to prevent an outbreak of avian influenza. In a confidential report issued to the US and India last week, a three-member dispute settlement panel headed by the former New Zealand envoy, ambassador David Walker, pronounced that New Delhi violated global trade rules by imposing local content requirements for solar cells and solar modules under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), according to a report in Mint. The WTO panel's ruling comes in the backdrop of Narendra Modi's Make in India programme, aimed at attracting foreign investment and turning India into a manufacturing hub. India needs as much as $200 billion to meet its green energy target to install 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power and 60,000MW of wind power by 2022. India Ratings said it expected a strong growth in solar power installations over the next 4-5 years, driven both by the government impetus of 100GW of solar power by 2021-22 (60GW through grid connected solar projects) and a decline in generation costs.

Care Ratings Survey Paints Mixed Picture of Indian Economy in FY16

The latest Care Ratings survey on the Indian economy indicates that country's economic growth is likely to improve in the current fiscal with the majority pegging gross domestic product (GDP) growth between 7.5-7.9 per cent. Also, prospects of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are widespread with a majority expecting a 50 bps cut before the end of this fiscal. The central bank will review its monetary policy on September 29, but market analysts are betting on a rate cut before the scheduled policy.  Indian growth slowed by more than expected in the quarter to June, a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi that will prompt more urgent calls from his aides for interest rate cuts. The latest data showed gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual 7 per cent rate in the April-June quarter, matching China, but slower than provisional growth of 7.5 per cent in the previous quarter. The data will also strengthen the calls from Modi's government for a rate cut. According to media reports, some bureaucrats are already arguing for an immediate cut of as much as 50 basis points in the RBI's main 7.25 per cent policy rate. Many in the government are worried that growth could slip below the official target of 8 to 8.5 per cent for the year to March, and see the central bank's caution as worsening the situation. InflationAccording to the survey, although price levels could be pressured owing to domestic as well as global factors viz. sub-normal monsoons in the country and sudden increases in global commodity prices, the general perception appears to be that the increase in price levels would be more less than the increase recorded last fiscal owing to the subdued global commodity prices and domestic conditions. Retail inflation in FY15 came in at 5.9 per cent. A large number of respondents (59 per cent) do not expect inflation in FY16 to surpass 5.9 per cent.  An overwhelming 83 per cent of the people predict a rate cut by the central bank in the coming months. RupeeThe exchange rate is expected to weaken from the current levels of Rs.63.4 to be in the range of Rs.64 -65.9/US dollar. The rupee is vulnerable to external factors, the most significant being the Federal Reserve's policy action on interest rates, the survey said. BanksThe banking sector is likely to be under pressure on the non-performing asset (NPA) front. The survey suggests that "banks are unlikely to get a respite from their stressed assets situation. Over half the respondents foresee an increase in the level of bank NPAs in FY16." Capital MarketA majority of the respondents (75 per cent) are of the view that the capital markets would witness an increase and the benchmark Sensex is expected to rule over the 27,000 levels this fiscal. Investment ClimateAs much as 85 per cent of respondents are convinced that overall investments in the country to improve in the current fiscal year. The survey findings reiterate the importance of the ease of doing business, the clearing of stalled projects and FDI for boosting investments. More than 60 per cent of the respondents find these measures of the government as being helpful in reviving domestic investments. The National Democratic Alliance government's foreign policy initiatives were being viewed as steps taken in the right direction.  Corporate SectorAlthough the corporate sector is expected to clock better performance than that in FY15, the improvement this year is largely projected to be modest with a large section of the respondents (over 80 per cent) expecting both sales growth and net profit growth to be not more than 10 per cent. With the domestic demand yet to pick up and with global demand also being tempered, corporates are unlikely to see a jump in their sales. Corporates can however hope to get continued relief on the expenditure front from the moderation in inflation.  In a nutshell, the survey indicates a mixed picture for the Indian economy in FY16. While on the one hand GDP is likely to see favourable growth, inflation expectations are subdued, but the capital markets are to be elevated. Investments too are expected to increase but the exchange rate is unlikely to see sharp depreciation.  With private investments likely to seen only a marginal pick-up in the near term, the government will have to bear the responsibility of increasing investments and thereby create the critical link for private investments and economic growth.  With indications of government spending in road and infrastructure, the investment cycle may be taken as being in the nascent stages of revival. Sustained increase in overall investment is contingent on growth inducing policy reforms.

Avery Dennison Grants Scholarship To 10 Students

Labeling and packaging solution provider Avery Dennison recently awarded scholarship worth Rs 9 lakh under its ‘Spirit of Invention’ (InvEnt) programme to 10 Indian students from five reputed institutes for innovation capabilities in science and technology. "We are pleased that the InvEnt Scholarship Programme has entered its fourth year in India,” said Alicia Procello Maddox, president of the Avery Dennison Foundation, CSR wing of the company. “As a company we are committed to improving the communities in which our employee operates and lives. We recognise the need for talent development to nurture effective leaders of the future. We are excited to play a part in the journey of these 10 students from India as they get ready to take on new opportunities in their future,” added Alicia. The participating Indian institutes this year included Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani; M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore; MIT, Manipal; Pune Vidhyarthi Griha's College of Engineering and Technology, Pune and St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. The company provides them a tour in their plant to broaden their mind. Alicia said that there is a huge chance for retention of the best minds. Anil Sharma, MD of Material Group, South Asia said, “We at Avery Dennison support innovations and understand the need for that. We also support social causes, which is an integral part of our Foundation. Our foundation is involved in many activities along with Smile Foundation. We work towards women empowerment, their education and improvise the Indian community.” On asking about the investment the company will make in India, Sharma said, “Currently, the packaging and labeling industry in India is around Rs 60, 000 crore. So far we have invested $70 million in India. We are looking forward to invest $100 million in the next 6-7 years.” The US based company which has specialized in pressure sensitive labeling has around 1,300 employees in India in its two centers, Bengaluru and Pune. Since becoming operational in the country, they have been working with different NGOs to promote education, sustainability and women empowerment.