Do it yourself

The latest edition of the FIFA World Cup, arguably the most popular sporting event in the world, is currently being played in Qatar - a tiny Islamic monarchy in Middle East Asia. With a population of 2.9 million, Qatar is hosting approximately 2 million guests, denying them freedom of alcohol, narcotics and sex, considered three major components of FIFA events, besides football. Moreover, the schedule of FIFA World Cup was changed for the first time to November-December from the usual June-July; apparently to suit the weather conditions in Qatar, which is unusually hot during summer months. It is intriguing for most why Qatar was chosen to host this event. Initially there were allegations of bribery and use of unfair means by Qatar authorities; but these were found baseless after a two year long investigation. However, if we consider the trend, the selection of Qatar to host the event might not look inexplicable after all. The three preceding editions of the FIFA World cup were held in...

In its latest Annual General Meeting, Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries announced an ambitious plan for setting up new energy business. The plan includes building four Giga factories to produce photovoltaic modules, advanced energy storage batteries, electrolyzers for the production of green hydrogen; and fuel cells for converting hydrogen into motive and stationary power. The announcement has added more energy to the already popular trade in alternative and new energy. Even though the media narrative has been more focused on the renewable energy and electric mobility, from stock market perspective, the most popular trade has perhaps been in the sugar manufacturers who have set up decent ethanol manufacturing capacities in past one decade or so. The Government of India had announced an ambitious ethanol blending program (EBP) in 2018, through a National Policy on Biofuels-2018 (NPB-2018) . The program included interest rate subvention for setting up molasses and gr...

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani becoming the sixth richest person on the planet earth has been adequately highlighted in Indian media, much more than his younger sibling Anil Dhirubhai Ambani pleading state of total penury in a UK court few weeks ago. Twenty years ago, Wipro Chairman Azim Hasham Premji was rated as the fifth richest person on Earth and the Richest in India. At that time, he could have exchanged his 75% holding in Wipro worth US$47bn, for 100% ownership each in Reliance Industry, Hindustan lever and Infosys Technologies, and still keep enough change to survive for two generations. Having committed most of his wealth to charity, today Prem Ji is known for his generosity and philanthropic pursuits and not for his wealth. This is however not the point of discussion here. Many readers have asked for my views on Reliance Industries, especially in light of the impressive growth agenda presented in a grand digital show, watched by millions. I would like to share my th...