ONGC is India''s biggest wealth creator

ONGC has been rated as being the biggest wealth creator in India in terms of market capitalisation, for the second year in succession. Subir Raha, chairman and managing director, of the company was presented the award in the 10th wealth creation awards function organised by Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd and CNBC-TV 18, in Mumbai on December 20, 2005.
ONGC topped the list as the biggest wealth creator for generating Rs1,065 billion between 2000 and 2005. The wealth created by it outstrips the combined wealth created by IOC (Rs349 billion), Reliance Industries (Rs349 billion) and State Bank of India (Rs240 billion) for the the same five-year period.
ONGC says this award is not a decision of any panel of judges. It is the verdict of nearly twenty million investors in the last five years. Thus, it truly reflects the investors confidence in the company''s capabilities and future prospects.
Last year ONGC was recognised for creating the highest wealth among all Indian corporates from 1999-2004 in the same survey.
Accepting the award for the second year in succession, Raha attributed the success to ''Team ONGC'', and hoped that it would achieve a hat-trick by bagging the award in the coming year, as well.

Wharton honours India's biggest wealth creator

The Wharton Business School honoured the late Dhirubhai Ambani by dedicating a state-of-the-art auditorium in his memory. Dhirubhai will continue to inspire and motivate many more young and daring minds, not just from India but from across the world, believes his wife Kokilaben Ambani who inaugurated the auditorium.The Ambanis have been associated with the Wharton Business School for generations.Paying rich tributes to Dhirubhai Ambani, Kokilaben Ambani, widow of Dhirubhai Ambani, took the centrestage at Wharton Business School on Monday as the premier institution dedicated an auditorium to the memory of her husband. The 300-seater-auditorium in Jon M Huntsman Hall at Wharton, christened Dhirubhai Ambani Auditorium, has been made possible thanks to a 'multi-million-dollar' gift by Anil Ambani, son of the late industrialist and now chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group."It is my hope and desire that the naming of this auditorium (after my late husband) will inspire and motivate many more young and daring minds, not just from Dhirubhai's beloved India but from across the world to learn from his outstanding example, to think ahead, to think fast, and most of all, to bring greater prosperity to humanity," Kokilaben Ambani said in voice choked with emotion at the hour-long event.
Dhirubhai's widow Kokilaben Ambani took a journey down memory lane reminiscing how her children and grandchildren are associated with the institute."Yesterday, as a proud grandmother, I saw Vikram, the eldest of my nine grand children graduate from the Wharton School. But today's event is even bigger and more special. Today, I am a very proud wife and even a prouder Indian as we commemorate the life and legacy of one of the world's greatest wealth creators of the modern era, my husband, the late Dhirubhai Ambani," she said.Dressed in a yellow sari, the 70-year-old matriarch of the Ambani family was emotional as she visited the hallowed portals of Wharton after a gap of 25 years. She had come here earlier to see her son Anil, then a graduate student at Wharton."Yes, I feel very emotional today. Dhirubhai did so much of good work for the community,' she told rediff.com.
It has been a privilege for the Ambanis to be at the Wharton. A tradition started by Anil Ambani will continue over the years, with his son Anmol also joining the School, Kokilaben said."There have been three generations of (the Ambanis) involvement with Wharton. First came Anil, then came Raj (son-in-law Dattaraj Salgaocar) and then Vikram (Salgaocar's son) and Anil's son Anmol will also come," she said. "So generations of people will come and get inspired. It is such a good opportunity to come to Wharton," she said.About 20 people, most of them faculty members of Wharton, including Dean Patrick Harker, associate dean Jeff Sheen, and Prof Jitendra Singh, besides the Ambani family members that comprised Tina Ambani, wife of Anil Ambani, Dhirubhai's daughter Dipti and her husband Dattaraj Salgaocar, and three grand children listened deferentially to the brief speech of the 70-year-old matriarch of the Ambani family.Both Salgaocar and Tina Ambani seemed to take the back seat as they urged Kokilaben Ambani to speak about Dhirubhai's association with Wharton, his life and what he dreamt of in terms of both India and the company he founded. Kokilaben being ushered into The Wharton Business School in Philadelphia on Monday
Lauding Kokilaben Ambani for her efforts in inspiring and encouraging Dhirubhai Ambani soar to enviable heights, son-in-law Dattaraj Salgaocar said it was indeed a privilege to introduce his mother-in-law. She is a woman of substance and has been the pillar of love, strength, and support to her husband and her children, more so to the family after his untimely demise in 2002."She was born in 1934 in a small village in Jamnagar. By next year, Reliance will have the largest grassroots refinery in the world in Jamnagar."This remarkable lady with no formal education but outstanding qualities and great intelligence has encouraged and inspired the foremost wealth-creator in India. She is also very businesses savvy and a great investor and involved in many social and religious causes," he said before inviting his mother-in-law to the podium. Kokilaben being handed over a book on Dhirubhai Ambani at The Wharton Business School in Philadelphia on Monday
Tina Ambani was at her vivacious best as she recollected fond memories at the Wharton School, where she first met Anil Ambani.Tina began her remarks with 'respected mummyjee' as she paid respects to the memory of Dhirubhai Ambani. "It is a solemn moment for me and it is also special as this is taking place in Wharton an institution with which I have enjoyed an exceptional relationship over the last 20 years," she said."As many of you know my father-in-law, the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani, was awarded the Dean's medal in 1998 for revolutionising the concept of investing in India, creating value and wealth for shareholders. He was the first Indian to receive such an honour. But what is less known is that it was here that I first met my husband Anil," she said."It was in the summer of 1982, I met with Anil just after mummy (Kokilaben) left (after visiting Anil Ambani, then a graduate student at Wharton)," the erstwhile Bollywood actress said. Anil Ambani's wife Tina Ambani gets a copy of the book on Dhirubhai Ambani
The next generation of Ambanis are already gearing up to follow their father's footsteps. "I must say that matters of heart are clearly not ignored at Wharton and this is for the future generation to know," Tina Ambani said with a chuckle."I wish when the time comes for making big academic decisions, my sons Anmol and Anshul, who are here with me today, will choose Wharton over other schools and of course prove themselves deserving of a place here."For Anmol and Anshul, and millions of young men and women in India, Dhirubhai's life is an inspiration. I hope that today's commemoration also inspires young people outside India to learn from his life and legacy,' she said."Visionaries like Dhirubhai do not belong to any nation or people or family. They belong to the world. On behalf of Anil and my family I thank you all." Kokilaben amidst Wharton officials and guests
The Wharton School honoured Dhirubhai by naming the new auditorium after him. Kokilaben cut the blue-ribbon to ceremoniously inaugurate the new auditorium. Dean Harker in his introductory remarks paid a glowing tribute to Ambani as he expressed the school's gratitude for the wonderful gift."He was a true pioneer in the development of the Indian economy, opening opportunity to thousands of his fellow citizens through his then-innovative public stock offerings," he said."We are honoured to have this outstanding opportunity to pay lasting tributes to Mr Ambani and the companies he built, and the important role he played in India's economic growth, and we are grateful to his son Anil for choosing to remember him in this meaningful way," he said.Kokilaben, along with family, cuts the blue-ribbon to inaugurate the new auditorium named after her late husband Dhirubhai Ambani was awarded the prestigious Dean's Medal from the Wharton School in 1998. As the 24th recipient of this honour, Ambani was recognised for his work as chairman of Reliance Industries, and for his role in revolutionising the concept of investing in India through the creation of wealth and value for millions of shareholders.Anil Ambani got his MBA from Wharton in 1983 and currently serves as a member of the Board of Overseers. "Imagine 50 years from now when India becomes one of the leading economies of the world, not just in purchasing power parity, but in real dollar terms and by that time tens of thousands of students would have walked through the halls of Wharton. imbibing Dhirubhai Ambani's legacy, the Reliance saga and India's great success story. By dedicating this auditorium to him today, we honour Dhirubhai and his memories," Prof Jitendra Singh said. Friends and family remember Dhirubhai Ambani, the legend

'Making money is short-term, creating wealth is long-term'

All those who are willing to be rich or rather create wealth through investing in stocks, in the long term, here is the piece of advice from Mr. Vikas Khemani, executive VP and co-head, institutional equities at Edelweiss.Which sectors do you think can help an investor create wealth, in say, 10 years?Ten years is too long a time period. Probably by that time you will have two cycles (ideally, any economy moves in two cycles: the up cycle and the down cycle, with each making its presence felt for at least five years or more) in place. So I will talk about a long-term horizon, which could be between five to 10 years. The sectors which we at Edelweiss like -- with a three to five year time horizon -- are the banking and financial spaces.One has to take a structural call on whether India's GDP growth is going to continue at eight to 10 per cent. The answer to that is India is likely to grow for the next three to five years at eight to 10 per cent. In this context, the banking and financial services spaces become the most important. This makes me bullish on this space with a one, two, three, four, five and possibly 10-year perspective if the growth cycle continues.Which other sector/s do you like for the long term?Given the fact that there is huge amount of opportunity, the other sectors that we like are the infrastructure and capital goods and the engineering space. As you know, India is still a hugely infrastructure-starved country and we need to build sea ports, airports, roads, improve electrical supply and all such infrastructure related sectors.Huge amounts of investments are likely to be made in building these infrastructural facilities. In this process wealth creation is going to happen for two set of people: people who are going to create these assets and infrastructure and people or companies who will enable creation of these assets. Both these sections will do very, very well in the long-term: asset owners and asset enablers.Can you elaborate on these two themes for our readers?Let us first talk about infrastructure creators or asset owners. These will be companies owning ports, airports, power plants. These companies will own assets, run them and this will be like an annuity (a business that generates fixed returns or steady cash flows every year) kind of business.For instance, somebody who will own the mines will be an asset owner; those who are operating the mines will be asset enablers. Reliance [Get Quote] Power (yet to be listed) and NTPC are building power plants so they are asset owners. But other companies in the capital goods sector like BHEL will be enabling this process of building power plants.GMR Infrastructure [Get Quote] will be building airports; but somebody has to help them to build the airport. In the process, both parties benefit a lot. However, asset enablers will yield faster results than asset owners.Do you see investors making money in the banking and financial space and the asset owner, asset enabler companies?Absolutely! Here I must also add the domestic consumption story in India. If you are talking about a five to seven year time horizon then I am sure India's per capita income will increase, wealth creation will happen, poverty and illiteracy will go down. All these things will happen structurally. When this happens, consumption in the economy will go up and the companies that cater to the domestic consumption sector will benefit tremendously.FMCG companies, retail stories and any company related to consumerism will offer a lot of wealth creating opportunities in the coming years.Companies that would possibly benefit from the above three themes?Banking and financial services is a fairly large space and if I have to name a few companies than the first name that comes up is ICICI Bank [Get Quote]. They have captured the entire gamut of financial services and I think this bank is going to gain big time in this space.Another company that I like in this space is Axis Bank. It has done well in the last seven to eight years, and if one has to look at this bank from another five to seven year perspective, then the quality of management that Axis Bank has will help it reap the benefits of a booming Indian economy. Also, both these banks can scale their operations with great ease.Companies that attract your attention in the asset owner and asset enabler space?In the asset owner space, I would go for something like GMR Infrastructure, Mundra Port -- they own large assets which are going to yield returns over a period of time. Though there aren't many companies in this sector that are available at reasonable valuations now. Having said that, I would still want to go for GMR Infrastructure and Mundra Port as they are into a space that offers new and exciting opportunities going ahead.Right now, we are only seeing the initial phase of what is likely to come in these spaces of ports and airports. In the next few years, you can see more wealth creation happening. Other asset owners that come to mind are JP Associates.In the asset enabler space, L&T comes immediately to mind. The company has displayed an excellent track record over a period of time and they are likely to continue with that. Their organisational platform is strong and I think this company will do very, very well in the next 3-5 years. It can be a potential multi-bagger.In this space you can also consider BHEL, BEL, BEML. All these companies are large asset-enablers with good quality management support and scalability. I am talking only about large caps here. You can also find a lot of good names in the small cap space in this theme.However, in this space, the main concern is the scalability of their business models. Otherwise, if I have to give a pick from the small cap space, then Mcnally Bharat will be a strong small cap contender in the asset nabler space.Stock picks for the long term from the domestic consumption space?Pantaloon [Get Quote] Retail is one name that can ride the boom in this segment. The management understands the retail game very well. The other story that is a part of domestic consumption story is ITC. It is a part of the FMCG sector, in the agricultural space -- which I believe also offers a huge opportunity for investment. Another name in this space could be McDowells.Your advice to young investors?Don't think you can make quick money in stocks. Don't go by tips and hearsay. It is a dangerous thing that people can do at your age. You have to understand what companies you are investing in, what is the aim of your investments is and then put your money in stocks.If you can't follow this path, then mutual fund route is better for this age group to create wealth. If you look at it, over a period of time, large part of wealth is created through asset allocation rather than stock picking. If you are able to get right your asset allocation mix then I think you have done 90 per cent of your job.My suggestion to young people would be if you are investing directly in equity, do your home work thoroughly. Read research reports, read about the company you want to invest in, gather more information about it. Then make an informed decision.Typically, I have seen most young people these days call up their friends working in a stock broking house and ask them for tips. This will help them make money in the short-term. But, on a net basis, they won't be able to take this money out. This way, they will make money but not create wealth. Making money is short-term, creating wealth is a long-term process.Will you be able to make money out of the markets using trading tips? It never happens. Creation of wealth can only happen if an investor is looking at it as a serious business. Look at it this way: People will work for 8-10 hours in their jobs and make Rs 8-10 lakhs a year. And the very same people want to make the same amount of money in a month's time purely acting on tips from their friends. From the effort and return point of view, there is some disconnect, right?When you come to the stock market, you should come with a long-term perspective. But they don't look at what kind of input they are putting in this effort. They should ask these questions: What kind of intellectual effort I am putting in this? What kind of research am I doing? Most young investors don't do this. In my opinion, this is a very dangerous sign.

HOW TO CREATE WEALTH FROM WASTE

WHEN MOHAMMED Arif Noorzai, Afghanistan’s minister for light industries, came calling a while ago, he made a rather unusual request. He insisted on visiting Panipat in Haryana.
Why Panipat? Not because it’s the site of ancient battles, but because it has an unusual industry: scores of the city’s inhabitants make a living spinning blankets from woollen rags. Known as shoddies, these coarse, low-cost blankets are made on looms set up in backyards, and everyday consume over four containers of cut rags imported from the US and Canada.
Both raw material and finished product are cheap, and it generates employment. It is this vibrant community industry that Noorzai wanted to take back to his war-ravaged country.
Scavenging angels. And it’s not blankets alone. The town boasts of a huge subsidiary market that runs on discards. "Zippers, buttons and cloth lining are salvaged from the tonnes of woollen garments everyday," says Puneet Agarwal, S.K. (India) Marketing, in the business for 15 years.
Agarwal and his ilk are only now being recognised for their gutsy entrepreneurship. Over the years, they have battled reluctant bankers, poor product acceptance and the lack of coherent policies.
Waste management, in fact, did not start off as a business opportunity. Environment-conscious people across the country took the initiative to clean up their world and, in the process, more often than not, found that their initiatives could help someone somewhere make money as well (See sideshow: Citizen clean).
Now, we have waste entrepreneurs all over the country–people who have tinkered with technology and come up with the best way to not just dispose of garbage but to convert it into solid, money-making proposals. Which should not really be such a surprise. After all, Indians are no strangers to recycling and its merits. Every little thing is salvaged and reused in several incarnations over several generations. Add a profit angle to this, and there you have your waste entrepreneur. As N.B. Mazumdar, chief of waste management at Hudco, says: "Conservation and thrift are integral to our attitude."
Initiatives in this field are wide-ranging. On one end of the spectrum, you have housewives like Delhi-based Asha Pandey who converts milk bags, thread and paper to teaching aids and rugs. On the other end are giant waste-to-energy (WtE) units like the Rs 78 crore power unit in western Maharashtra driven by bagasse from sugar mills. Ranging from the usual suspects like plastic, metal, glass or paper, right down to human hair, dog fur, animal and human excreta–there seems to be little that cannot be reconverted and sold.
Gold from dross. Much of the action can be attributed to judicial activism and the subsequent stipulations of the Municipal Solid Wastes (management and handling) Rules, 2000 and Biomedical Wastes (management and handling) Rules, 1998. This makes it mandatory for municipal bodies to set up waste-processing/disposal units before December 2003.
The municipal dumping grounds are virtual gold mines, as cash-strapped municipal bodies invite private enterprise to help them get rid of garbage and take the profits. Says Mazumdar: "This area holds tremendous potential, not only for small business but also for large corporates."
In the US, the solid waste industry generates $43 billion in annual revenue and contributes $14 billion as direct and indirect taxes. Over 27,000 companies, employing 3,67,800 people, are engaged in this business, which accounts for 0.5 per cent of the GDP.
The potential here is tremendous: India generates around 48 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW), with an organic, biodegradable content of over 40 per cent, ideal for composting. Municipal bodies spend between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 per tonne on collection, transportation, treatment and disposal; only 5 per cent of this is spent on final disposal.
Private players are now being enticed to take on the task. The announcement in Budget 2002 of a Rs 500 crore Urban Reform Incentive Fund and a City Challenge Fund, which seeks to rope in the private sector in the provision of civic services, may trigger activity here. The Mumbai-based Excel Industries has set up aerobic (microbial treatment) composting plants in 12 cities. The municipal bodies supply free MSW, the entrepreneur runs the plants, and Excel provides the know-how. "Over 500 tonnes of MSW are turned into 200 tonnes of compost in a 45-day cycle," says Excel’s Ramesh Gade.
In 20 Class 1 towns of Rajasthan, including Jaipur and Jodhpur, the state has offered 30-year land leases for MSW projects at a mere Re 1/sq.m/year. Hyderabad and Pune have given private parties the task of collecting and disposing hazardous waste from hospitals and small clinics.
Money from MSW, hospital waste, ash... the possibilities are endless. Intelligent Investor looks at six areas where entrepreneurs have made money from muck.
Composting musicMrudula Saptarshi of Mumbai started by campaigning to separate garbage at the household level into wet/organic (kitchen) and dry/synthetic waste (plastic, glass, paper, metal). Separation is the key to modern waste management practices. She began with vermiculture (using earthworms to convert garbage to compost) in her kitchen garden.Soon, companies, hotels and housing societies were calling her in as consultant.
MRUDULA SAPTARSHIVermigold International, MumbaiKind of waste: Municipal solid wasteConverted into: VermicompostTurnover: Rs 25 lakh a yearContact: 022-6463589vermigoldinternational.com
That’s when her passion turned into a business. Today, Vermigold International, her company, is a Rs 25 lakh a year business that has graduated to large projects, like the one she has launched with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCM).
MCM has leased her 2,400 sq.m of land for free, and has promised to provide 35 tonnes of vegetable and flower waste daily from the Dadar market. The unit cost Rs 10 lakh, and MCM gave an interest-free mobilisation advance of Rs 5 lakh (to be repaid in 10 instalments over 28 months, with an 18-month moratorium). The other Rs 5 lakh came from Saptarshi.
The unit has a monthly capacity of 100 tonnes; compost will be retailed at Rs 15 a kg. Saptarshi will pay MCM Rs 25,000 a month or 10 per cent of profits, whichever is higher. "I have offers from other states to set up similar plants," she says.
Blood, toil, sweatHospitals are a major source of dangerous and noisome waste. Incineration, the preferred method of disposal, releases toxic fumes and has many critics. Pune’s doctor couple Nirmala and Hamir Ganla is dedicated to the task of safely recycling the waste generated from their 12-bed maternity home.
In October 1997, the couple started a three-year experiment in collaboration with Pune’s B.J. Medical College. They used the aerobic process to convert all bio-medical waste from their hospital–sanitary napkins, placentae, blood-soaked dressings–into manure. They tested the results. "The manure was as benign as ordinary soil and no pathogens were detected," says Ganla.
To convince sceptics, the Ganlas then injected samples of treated hospital waste and garden soil with HIV-positive and Hepatitis B-positive blood and some salmonella cultures. "Follow-on studies revealed no trace of virus from the treated samples," says Ganla.
HAMIR GANLAOm Maternity Clinic, PuneKind of waste: Bio-medicalConverted into: ManureSavings: Rs 20,000 a yearContact: 020-6694182
Over the years, the couple has carted 400 kg of manure from their clinic to the 22-acre farm where they grow over 15,000 fruit trees, mostly chickoo and mango. "The trees don’t show signs of any infection," says Ganla. Chemical fertilisers and insecticides would have cost around Rs 20,000 a year. Considerable savings indeed, and from a most unlikely source.
Ash to cashPower generation through coal combustion produces minute particles of ash that pose enormous problems of disposal. Over 70 million tonnes of fly ash is generated every year from over 80 thermal power stations.
Despite ingenious means of disposal, ash utilisation is a poor 10 million tonnes per year. One way out is to substitute clay bricks with fly ash bricks. NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) supplies free fly ash to entrepreneurs and the Orissa government has even banned the use of top-soil for brick manufacturing within a 70-km radius of thermal power stations. Consequently, over 50 fly ash brick manufacturing units have come up in the state.
New Delhi’s Jitendra Pareek saw the potential in 1998. He invested Rs 3 lakh to set up Eco Vision Industries, which uses over 26 tonnes of fly ash a day.
JITENDRA PAREEKEco Vision Industries, New DelhiKind of waste: Fly ashConverted into: Bricks, blocksTurnover: Rs 25,000 a dayContact: 011-5267603
The start was not easy. Why would anyone want to buy expensive fly ash bricks at Rs 1.50 when baked clay bricks cost Rs 1.30? But once he convinced doubters about its greater strength and thermal insulation, and the considerable savings in mortar, there was no looking back.
"I had to train masons at construction sites," recalls Pareek. His clients now include industrial houses. "I haven’t tapped even 5 per cent of the local market," he claims. Eco Vision’s product range has extended to kerbstones, pavement tiles and inter-locking blocks. The daily turnover: Rs 25,000. "By next year, I hope to make Rs 1 lakh a day," he says.
Paper tigerFor centuries, waste has been integral to the manufacture of handmade paper. The villagers of Sanganer, near Jaipur, are called kagzies and have been making handmade paper since the time of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh.
New Delhi’s Rajinder Singh chucked a career in medicine to emulate the kagzies. He bought a sick handmade paper unit four years ago and pumped in Rs 10 lakh to set up Eco-Shop.
RAJINDER SINGHBuds & Blossoms / Eco-shop, New DelhiKind of waste: Cotton ragsConverted into: Handmade paperTurnover: Rs 12 lakh a yearContact: 011-3317501
His initial expectations haven’t materialised but Singh is optimistic and on his way to Germany to survey the market. However, breaking into the export market means taking on titans from Bangladesh, the Philippines and Nepal. Handmade paper traditionally uses agro waste, silk waste, cotton rags, straw as raw material. Ironically, it’s Indian recycling ingenuity that has been a damper to Singh’s business. "Cotton rags are now fluffed up and used for making dhurries, which leads to erratic and expensive raw material supplies," he explains.
Hair-raisingThere’s money even in that most scorned of household waste–hair. And Chennai’s Kishore Gupta has discovered it. He’s not the only one. Human hair export is a Rs 200 crore business in India today. Of this, Gupta Enterprises alone accounts for Rs 44 crore. "Hair that’s thrown out is waste, hair that is collected is money," says Gupta.
Hair export is nothing new. Gupta’s father started off in the late 1960s by supplying hair to exporters, then set up his own unit in Eluru in Andhra Pradesh a decade later. His company has since bagged export awards for 14 years.
KISHORE GUPTAGupta Enterprises, ChennaiKind of waste: Human hairConverted into: Wigs, toupeesTurnover: Rs 44 crore a yearContact: 044-6403737
The business does not depend entirely on hair from barber cuttings and temples, though the Tirupati temple alone sells a staggering Rs 20 crore worth annually. A large portion of it comes from households across India, collected by rag-pickers and garbage collectors, which then finds its way to Eluru.
Here it is sorted into lengths and colours, cleaned, washed and dried, and then shipped out in containers. Each month, 30-35 tonnes of hair is exported to 32 countries. China is the biggest buyer: the hair is made into wigs, toupees and braids for the US and European markets.
The roof with a farmRetired Mumbai industrialist R.T. Doshi has now turned farmer. His field is his rooftop. He uses the organic waste from his kitchen as soil and harvests about 5 kg of vegetables and fruits every day, enough for his family of 10.
The science he uses is neither hydroponics nor bonsai, but much simpler. The top and bottom of a drum are cut off, then 12 holes of 8-10 cm diameter are cut into the body at varying heights.
R T DOSHIMumbaiKind of waste: Wet kitchen wasteConverted into: Farm manureSavings: Rs 18,000 a yearContact: 022-6401439
It is then filled with sugarcane bagasse to a height of 5 cm. Kitchen waste is dumped into the drum every day, till the pile reaches the first hole. At this point, a sapling or seed is placed in the hole.The process is continued till the drum is full. The plants grow out of the holes. It involves minimal labour and time, and needs watering only twice a week.
"An urban family produces a kilo of garbage a day, enough for city farming," says Doshi. Drums can be placed on the terrace or balconies. Doshi spends just half an hour a day to farm his 1,200 sq.ft roof, and grows figs, guava, lemon, brinjal and beans. "City farming works wonders for the budget. I save Rs 18,000 a year on vegetables," he says. Over 100 Mumbai families have emulated his example.
On balance. The going has not been smooth. The main problem for such businesses has been marketing. First, convincing users to switch and, second, breaking the stranglehold of established producers, whether of chemical fertilisers, plastic bags or clay bricks. Evidently, entrepreneurs in this area must be interested in more than just making money. They are in the business of finding feasible and profitable solutions to some very big problems of garbage disposal and environment pollution.

Indian blue-chip cos create 3 times more wealth than US firms

India’s 30 blue-chip companies, part of the stock market benchmark Sensex, may be minnows compared to their US counterparts, but they have created nearly three times more wealth for their investors this year so far compared to the American giants.
The total market value of the 30 Indian companies is less than one-sixth of the same in the US.
Similar to the Bombay Stock Exchanges 30-share barometer index, the US market’s benchmark index Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) also has 30 companies.
However, cumulative market capitalization of 30 Sensex companies stands at just about $668 billion (Rs26.3 trillion) against $4,158 billion of the DJIA constituents.
But when compared in terms of the gain in market value since the beginning of this year, Indian blue-chips have outperformed the US giants by a wide margin.
Those listed in the US have together added $84.48 billion to their investors’ kitty in this period, while the same figure for the Indian market stands at a whopping $219 billion.
Besides, the total gain recorded by the 30 DJIA companies is less than than the increase in the market cap of just two biggest Sensex gainers. Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries has registered the highest gain of $61.3 billion , followed by state-run power generation major NTPC with $26.8 billion.
In the US, the highest gain has been recorded by energy giant ExxonMobil, whose market cap grew by $45 billion.
Even in the percentage terms, the Indian stocks have appreciated by an average of about 37% against just about 7% in the US.
This is despite the Indian market seeing a higher number of companies seeing a dip in their market value. In India, 11 Sensex companies have recorded a market capitalisation dip against 10 in the US.
Among the US firms, banking giant Citigroup recorded the biggest plunge of $108 billion, while Home Depot, AIG and Altria Group saw an erosion of $25-40 billion each.
The gainers among the US blue-chips include Microsoft ($38.2 billion), Coca-Cola ($34 billion), Merck & Co ($32 billion) and Intel ($31 billion).
Besides, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, P&G, Verizon Communications, United Technologies, McDonald’s, IBM and General Electric have also seen a surge of more than $10 billion each.
In India, RIL has recorded the biggest gain of $61.3 billion, followed by NTPC ($26.8 billion), L&T ($22.1 billion) and ONGC ($20.4 billion).
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, ICICI Bank and SBI have also seen a gain of over $10 billion.
Among the losers, IT giant Infosys saw the biggest erosion of $8.1 billion, followed by other two software majors TCS and Wipro which saw a fall of $5.9 billion and $5.1 billion respectively.
Tata Motors lost about two billion dollar, while Cipla and Mahindra and Mahindra lost close to one billion dollar each. The losses have been below $1 billion for five other companies — Dr Reddy’s Labs, ACC, Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever and Satyam Computer.
The four IT firms — TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Satyam — together lost $19.9 billion, forming a major portion of the total loss of $26.9 billion by 11 companies.
Among the Indian blue-chips, RIL has the highest market cap of about $106 billion, ExxonMobil is the most valued firm in the US at $465 billion.

Create Wealth - How to Make Money Fast With Low Risk!

Anyone can create wealth and there are 4 main points to consider, there easy to learn and if you implement them, you will create wealth with low risk.
You don't need to work long hours and you don't need to be innovative, all you need to do is follow the tips below.
So, here are your 4 simple tips to create wealth and an example of how to put them to work for you.
1. You are Responsible
No one else is going to do it for you. You're on your own, but that's the best way.
In today's society we like to consult experts on a wide variety of things, however if you consult an expert on how to create wealth, the only people likely to get rich are them!
Forget, MLM, gambling and finance sure fire systems from a guru, or any other scheme where you pay a few hundred dollars to unlock the door to unlimited wealth.
They don't work.
Wealth creation is all about having some capital and putting it to good use make it grow. We will give you an example of how to do this however for now lets look at the other 3 tips:
2. Working Smart V Working Hard
Lots of people work hard, however hard work does not result in wealth creation and there is no correlation between working hard and making money.
If you want to make money you need to work smart and there's a big difference.
Working smart means, spotting an opportunity and using your own judgment in an area that offers you good risk to reward.
3. Understanding compound growth
Most people are in to much of hurry to create wealth and want to get rich overnight.
Because they are in to much of a hurry, they end up losing their money by taking to much risk.
Wealth creation does take a bit of time to get started, but once you start making money compound growth soon kicks in and your money builds exponentially.
For example.
If you have $30,000 to start, to get to $120,000 will take 3 years (at 100% annual growth ) giving you a profit of $90,000.
However, the next year at the same growth rate you will make $120,000 profit in just one year.
As your nest egg builds your money works for you and grows exponentially.
The important point to remember is:
Make your money work for you.
That means taking advantage of compound growth as illustrated above.
4. Understanding risk & reward
Compound growth makes your money work for you as it grows as your profits are re invested.
You must be careful however to keep risk low and NOT lose it.
You need to target:
The highest growth rate to lowest downside risk – Not the highest growth rate.
For example, if you lose 50% on $100,000 you have $50,000 left. You then have to make a 100% to get back to square one.
Which investment would you rather have?
A. One that has potential growth of 200% with a 80% chance of losing all your funds.
Or:
B. One that has 100% growth potential with a 10% chance you will lose all your funds.
If you have understood the above, you will see the way to create wealth is to pick investment B.
As you create money, compound growth kicks in accelerating your gains.
Balancing the risk to reward will ensure your money grows swiftly with low downside risk.
That's great, but can you give me an example of a good investment ?
A great investment to create wealth is land.
It's cheap, in short supply, has massive growth potential, low risk and finally, it's simple to understand and invest in.
Prime land is simply in short supply.
If you buy in booming economies and target land next to growing urbanization or a growing infrastructure, you can sell it on at huge profits once the land is developed.
One of the best locations is just 3 hours direct flight from the USA.
In Costa Rica, Americans are buying beachfront property at up to 70% less than in the US and of course it has to be built on land.
This is yielding profits of up to 100% per annum for savvy land investors
buying in the right locations.
Even better downside volatility is very low.
So, if you put the 4 tips to work we have given you above buying land in Costa Rica you could soon see your money growing quickly with low risk.

SIP — A Powerful Tool to Create Wealth

Mutual Fund (MF) is a special type of
investment institution that pools the
savings of the community and invests
largefundsinawell-diversifiedportfolioofsound
investments. It employs professionally qualified
and well-experienced investment consultants
and fund managers to take the pooled money
and invest it in a wide range of industries with
the objective of minimising risk and maximising
return on investment.
An MF is set up in the form of a trust, which
has a sponsor, trustees, an Asset Management
Company and a custodian. The Mutual Fund
industry in India started way back in 1963 with
the formation of the UnitTrust of India. However,
aneweraofthisindustrybeganwiththeentryof
public sector banks, private financial companies
and foreign institutions.
Avarietyofschemesareavailabletoinvestors,
including Debt-Oriented schemes, Equity
Schemes, Balanced Schemes, Equity-Linked
Savings Schemes, Money Market Schemes,
Sector-Specific Fund, Index fund, etc. An investor
in MFs generally chooses the scheme as per his
investment objective, risk profile, time horizon,
etc. If the investor invests a sum of Rs 10,000 at a
Net Asset Value (NAV) of Rs 10, he receives 1,000
units of the fund. The timing of the investment
in such a case may turn out to be favourable or
unfavourable to the investor. Thinking on this
line, it may be a wiser decision for an investor to
goinforaSystematicInvestmentPlan(SIP)rather
than a regular MF investment.
UnlikeMFinvestments,inwhichallhismoney
is invested at one go, SIPs allow the investor to
invest a specified amount at predetermined
specific intervals. It works the same way as a
Recurring Deposit. For example, an investment
of Rs 10,000 can be spread over 10 months, with
Rs 1,000 invested every month. The number of
unitsaccruingintheSIPisdependentontheNAV
of the scheme prevailing at the time of purchase
of the fund.
Advantages of SIP
l
The biggest difficulty in investing is in
deciding when to invest. SIP helps us to
overcome this problem. It is a disciplined
investment irrespective of the state of the
market. It makes the market timing totally
irrelevant. And especially with the next 2-
3 years looking good from the economy
point of view, one can expect good returns
through regular investing.
l
MF allows us to invest amounts as small as Rs
500–1000 in SIP. This makes investing easier,
as it does not strain monthly finances. It is
therefore an ideal investment option for a
small investor who would otherwise not be
able to enjoy the benefits of investing in the
equity market.
l
In SIP, an investor invests a fixed sum of
money regularly for a pre-determined