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Before EGMs, Tata group writes 'an appeal' to stakeholders of all group companies Even as both camps in the Tata vs Mistry boardroombattle get ready for the impending extraordinary general meetings of various Tata group companies to oust former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus as director, the war of words through statements and counter-statements do not seem to end. On Sunday, while the Ratan Tata camp alleged that Mistry misled the selection committee to become the chairman of Tata Sons, Mistry’s office stated that Ratan Tata had been repeating the same lie a thousand times and hoping it to become a truth. ALSO READ:   Mistry misled to become chairman, says Tata Sons Here is the full text of the Tata group’s letter to stakeholders explaining why the group lost its confidence in Cyrus Mistry: AN APPEAL FROM THE TATA GROUP TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS OF TATA COMPANIES Extraordinary General Meetings of various Tata Companies are coming up over the next few weeks. We, at Tata Sons Lt...

Uber set to merge Chinese business with Didi Chuxing: Report In a move that marks the end of intense rivalry in the ride-hailing market in China,   Uber Technologies will merge its Chinese business with   Didi Chuxing , news agency   Bloomberg reported on Monday. Didi is the dominant app-based taxi aggregator in the country. The valuation of the combined entity is $35 billion, the report added, citing people familiar with the development. As per the new structure, investors in   Uber China   — a company owned by Uber and other investors — will have 20% stake in the merged firm. Meanwhile, Didi will be making an investment of $1 billion in Uber at a valuation of $68 billion. “As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that being successful is about listening to your head as well as following your heart,” Travis Kalanick, chief executive officer of Uber, wrote in a blog post What happens next? (Read More)

Movies & cricket serious business for Apple CEO Tim Cook's future India plans Apple chief Executive Officer   Tim Cook 's visit to India, mixing plenty of leisure with work, has set off comparisons with other tech giants. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's trips to the country in 2014 and 2015 lasted for about two days. Microsoft chief Satya Nadella will come at the end of this month only for a day, the same as the duration of his previous official visit in November 2015. Google's Sundar Pichai was in the country for two days last year. Bill Gates' first visit as the CEO of Microsoft in 1997 was short - barely two days. Apart from limiting the number of days in an official visit to two or three, CEOs of large multinational corporations have mostly stuck to business on such trips - meeting business and political leaders, interacting with students on college campuses, and doing big-ticket launches. Perhaps, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was a little out ...

Tamil Nadu: Blow for Karunanidhi family's business interests? Thursday’s state election results are likely to make the fortunes for some businesses and mar for some others. The biggest and most prominent loser of the day was from the family of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. On the day of the results, the   Sun TV   stock lost Rs 2,229 crore in market value. Its market capitalisation fell from Rs 16,845 crore at its close on Thursday to Rs 14,616 crore at the end of the day. By virtue of his 75 per cent holding, DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s grandnephew Kalanithi Maran   would take three-fourths of that hit. This notional loss could be an indicator of the bad news in store for the family’s business interests that extend beyond media. While Maran was among the first in the family to get into organised business through his venture into broadcast media in the early 1990s, there were others who have followed in his footsteps. After a brief break-up in relations with the Ma...

At Rs 82,490, this laptop makes a nice proposition for any gamer A friend from school got in touch the other day after a really long time. A high-flying information technology (IT) consultant and mentor now, I've always admired him for blowing up his first big bonus on a state-of-the-art gaming laptop roughly around the time I was taking baby steps in journalism. But years of carrying around mean gaming machines had taken their toll; as he still spent considerable time in airport lounges and on flights, he was looking for a lighter gaming notebook, he said.   A gaming laptop that's light? It used to be something of a paradox. Till I came across the ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) GL552VW (Rs 82,490), launched late last month. At a shade above 2.5kg, this 15.6-inch notebook was roughly the weight of any mainstream laptop.   Read more.

The fight for supremacy in the premium smartphone segment between Samsung and   Apple   continues to create ripples in the Indian market. During the past two years, the war has attracted enough attention and evoked excitement among technology device freaks in the country. And in the latest round of the fight, Samsung again proved its dominance over Apple in the first half of the year. According to the latest data, during January and April, 2016, Samsung’s market share in the above Rs 30,000 price segment rose to 46%, compared to Apple’s 42%. The stark contrast and changing of leadership position on a regular basis can be traced in the fact that during the four months, preceding the period mentioned above, Apple used to hold similar market share and used to be chased by Samsung. During September and December, 2015, Apple’s market share in the premium segment was nearly 48%. While increasing promotion and distribution focus is usually attributed to such periodic change...

It is a practical, seven-seater SUV/MPV cross and gets all the good stuff from Honda's inventory. Many of you have seen the Honda BR-V in videos or pictures, and the rest might have spotted it at the 2016 Auto Expo. It is a practical, seven-seater SUV/MPV cross and gets all the good stuff from Honda’s inventory. As a product, the BR-V stands to its ground, but the competition it faces from the Creta is fierce. Here is all that you need to know before you book the BR-V for yourself. Read more from our special coverage on "HONDA CARS" Honda Cars hopes BR-V will help clock double-digit growth in FY17 1.   The Seven-Seater Advantage Being the sole seven-seater SUV in its segment, the Honda BR-V will catch the eye of specific buyers. Although, the Creta seats three children at the back with utter ease, the BR-V takes comfort to an all new level. But, accommodating three passengers on the second row will be a squeeze. So, if you are fond of family picnics, ...

Patanjali Ayurved, co-founded by televangelist Ramdev, is targeting Rs 10,000-crore revenue in 2016-17, after sales grew 150 per cent in the previous financial year to Rs 5,000 crore. The revenue target, if achieved, will put Patanjali Ayurvedahead of multinationals like Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive andProcter & Gamble in India. Read more from our special coverage on " PATANJALI AYURVED " Patanjali to invest Rs 1,150 crore in FY17; eyes doubling revenue SEA to move FSSAI, ASCI against Patanjali mustard oil ad The new business tycoons Delhi-headquartered   Patanjali Ayurved   has four business divisions: home care, cosmetics and health, food and beverages, and health drinks. The company would venture into khadi products and animal feed this year, Ramdev said. Patanjali Ayurved, founded in 2007, has grown more than 10 times in revenue in five years, an unprecedented feat in India's fast-moving consumer goods industry. "This is just the beginning. Ne...