Forbes India - Feb 17, 2012 Issue

LATEST ISSUE Feb 17, 2012

Singin' in the Rain

In 2008, the crisis came without any warning. This time, things have been simmering for a while. But CEOs of even the best run Indian companies aren't that worried. They have a range of interventions planned to help scuttle the effects of the downturn. Conversations with a range of CEOs across diverse industries make it amply clear that India Inc. is fighting back. As businesses hunker down to deal with the tough times, the next few months will prove whether they've indeed learnt the lessons from the 2008 slowdown-and the ones before that in 1996 and 2001.

How to Win Friends...

MTV Roadies, an abusive reality show from India, has won the �Most Social Show in the World' award at the 2011 Mashable Awards, the equivalent of the Oscars in the digital social media landscape. Roadies holds sway over the largest demographic in India, on a medium that few brands have been able to figure out-online. Roadies consistently ranks among the most engaging pages in the world on Facebook. It stays connected with its fans round the clock. The hosts/judges of Roadies, twins Ranvijay and Raghu Ram, are also powerful brands themselves

A Salve for a Taxing Moment

No case in corporate history has evoked as much interest as the Vodafone tax case. For the first time in the history of free India, the Indian tax authorities were going after a fat-pursed multinational that had bought a business in India. The Indian Income Tax Department wanted Vodafone to pay taxes since it also involved the sale of an Indian asset. The Vodafone management was baffled as there was no precedent for this anywhere in the world. They took the issue straight to the court and later hired Harish Salve, one of the top lawyers in the country, to represent them. This is the inside story of how Salve saved the telecom company Rs. 2,500 crore.

The Ice Candy Man

Gaurav Jain, the MD of Swastik Roadlines, a small trucking company in Gwalior, hit upon a secret formula that helped him grow the business in cold chain logistics. It started with a trial run for Cadbury India. Jain realised that Cadbury's products didn't need strong insulation like the one offered by its existing cold chain company, Kausar. By selling customised cold chain solutions, Jain has now managed to make his company the largest cold chain logistics company in India.

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