Best time to be born in India: KV Kamath
The heat and dust over corruption scandals might give some people the impression that the country is going through one of its darkest phases. But for the eternal optimist, Kundapur Vaman Kamath, there has never been a better time to be born an Indian. "I had never imagined that we would have transformed as far and as fast as we have today," says Kamath.
Indeed, India at 64 is very different from India at birth. And Kamath, who was born the same year, has experienced it all - the nation-building fervour of the 1950s and 60s, the disappointments and lost opportunities of the 80s, the confidence of the post-reforms era... "The economic development in the last decade was at an unmatched pace," he says. "But improvement in the next decade will be at a greater pace than before and would bring great prosperity."
Growing up in quiet, coastal Mangalore, young Kamath got a feel of the momentous events of the time because of his father, a Congressman who later became mayor of Mangalore. Among the his earliest memories was the "great admiration" people had for national leaders in those days. Kamath studied in St Ann's and St Aloysius, which gave him early exposure to the English language. While studying at Karnataka Regional Engineering College, he got to try his hand at business too. With his father busy in politics, Kamath began to look after his factory where they made 'Mangalore tiles' (roof tiles baked from clay).
After completing engineering, Kamath studied at IIM, Ahmedabad and chose banking as a career. His stint in the Asian Development Bank in Philippines, which took him across Asia's tiger economies, made him realize how opportunity was passing India by. "Things were getting more difficult (in India) which is why I decided to stay back," he says. He returned to India and took over as ICICI Bank's CEO in 1996.
Kamath wasted no time in converting the institution into a bank, making it the country's second largest. He was the only banker who saw the demand for new-generation banking services from the great Indian middle class and expanded retail loans and services - which included ATMs and internet banking - across the country in a manner that is now part of modern banking history.
The only challenges he sees for India in the next decade are keeping wages competitive and having a resilient, stable currency. What about the challenges of governance? Kamath says that what is happening now is evidence of democratic institutions being at work, with courts taking a hard stance and the office of the CAG talking tough. He is confident that the structural change started in India has gained a momentum of its own.
Tata Steel net profit rises to Rs 5,346 cr on one-time gain
Tata Steel on Friday reported nearly threefold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,346.55 crore for the quarter ended June, buoyed by mainly one-time gain after sale of stakes in Australian mining firm Riversdale and Tata Refractories.
The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,825.3 crore during the corresponding quarter of last financial year. Other income formed a major part of this profit push, which stood at Rs 3,882.3 crore versus Rs 59.3 last year. The total income for the group during the quarter stood at Rs 33,000 crore as against Rs 27,193.7 crore in the corresponding period last year, up by 21.4 per cent.
The total expenditure incurred by the group shot up to Rs 29,728 crore as against Rs 23,804.9 crore because of the increase in raw material prices, mainly coking coal.
The company said it consumed raw material worth of Rs 11,227.7 crore in the quarter as against Rs 7,805.5 crore, last year. H M Nerurkar, managing director, said the company managed to post growth in volumes and earnings from India operations despite the signs of slower growth in India. He said high raw material prices and monetary tightening in India remained a cause for concern.
The massive uptick in the other income came on the back of Tata Steel's liquidation of investments in Riversdale of Australia, Tata Refractories Ltd and settlement of arbitration of Teesside Cast Products consortium.
Also, Rs 442.1 crore was added to the other income as the company sold its stake in Tata Refractories Ltd.
Tata Steel now has 26.62 per cent stake in TRL, which is now renamed as TRL Krosaki Refractories Ltd.
The company said, “Other income in the consolidated results includes profit of Rs 2,879.29 crore on disposal of Tata Steel Global Mineral Holding’s investment in Riversdale Mining Ltd. The company continues to hold 35 per cent stake in Riversdale Energy (Mauritius) Ltd."
Also, Rs 442.1 crore was added to the other income as the company sold its stake in Tata Refractories Ltd. Tata Steel now has 26.62 per cent stake in TRL, which is now renamed as TRL Krosaki Refractories Ltd. Cash settlement of Rs 597.7 crore also boosted the other income relating to the arbitration with the Teeside Cast Products (TCP) Consortium.
The group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) stood at Rs 8,358 crore as against Rs 4,506 crore, the same quarter last year. The Ebitda is inflated by 'one-off gains' of Rs 4,007 crore. The group's India operations, classified as Tata Steel India contributed Rs 3,656 crore to the consolidated Ebitda and Rs 2,219 crore to the profit after tax.
Tata Steel Europe recorded a 41.2 per cent increase in its Ebitda, at Rs 1,907 crore.
The company said that this was possible because of the higher average realisations.
Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, MD & CEO Tata Steel Europe said, "European steelmakers also faced the challenge of sharp raw material cost increases, which have largely been maintained into this quarter, despite the uncertain economic outlook."Tata Steel's South-East Asia operations under NatSteel Holdings reported an Ebitda of Rs 32 crore, down from Rs 94 crore because of the decline in scrap and rebar prices. Electricity costs shot up which added to the squeeze.
Run machine Cook hits epic 294 to leave India reeling
Alastair Cook went on and on yesterday. For most of the time he looked as if he would go on some more, all the way until England was once again a green and pleasant land.
Click HERE to view graphic: 'Edgbaston Scoreboard' (115.79kB)
But that might never happen and after he had batted for almost 13 hours he was undone by tiredness and urgency, aware there were a match and series to be won. Six runs short of an epic triple century, he was out. England immediately declared amid a torrent of statistics.
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India must have been reeling from them. All too soon, facing a first-innings deficit of 486, they were in deeper trouble. Virender Sehwag, their richly gifted and spectacular opener, was out first ball for the second time in the match. What an unfair game it seemed: one side's opener had made 294, the other's had made a king pair. India avoided further loss but they still have two days to bat and are 451 behind.
Cook's monumental innings was the highest score by an England batsman since 1990 when Graham Gooch made 333, also against India, and the sixth highest in all. But as he trooped off, having chased a wide one which was caught at point, Cook seemed momentarily downcast rather than elated.
England's total of 710 for 7 declared was their third highest and their highest since 1938, when they made 903 for 7 in a timeless Test against Australia. The immense first-innings lead was also their third largest.
There was little that was artistic or creative about Cook's innings but it was a testament to concentration and craftsmanship of the very highest order. In any innings that endures for any length of time, especially one that starts against a new ball and then has to contend with another two, there are bound to be brittle moments. This was not a batting strip of the shirtfront variety but, although Cook might have played and missed a time or two, he did not offer a chance.
He faced 545 balls and struck 33 fours. If there is a criticism it is of the mildest kind. Cook might have tried to accelerate in the afternoon when India had long since wilted (actually, on reflection, they had wilted by about lunchtime at Lord's on the second day of the first Test).
True, the fields were strictly defensive by then with four or four five men lining the boundary, but Cook remained content to accumulate resolutely, intent on doing nothing rash. Nobody expects him to be the Great Entertainer, doing the batting equivalent of singing while dancing on tables, but he might burst into a ditty occasionally. By tea he had faced 179 balls of the third day and added 84 runs. It was perhaps old-fashioned Test cricket by an old-fashioned Test cricketer.
This was the statistical zenith of a remarkable sequence of scores by Cook. A year ago he saved his career at The Oval by making a hundred against Pakistan. Had he not done so, it is perfectly possible that he would have been dropped. Having done so, he has become a run machine and crease occupier par excellence.
During the winter's Ashes series he scored 766 runs, including three hundreds, and batted for 34 hours. Far from sated he has scored another three hundreds this summer in six Test matches so far. He is 26. Any and all England batting records are open to him.
Cook's endeavours all but consumed all others. But what eventually swept India away was his fourth-wicket partnership of 222 with Eoin Morgan, who made his second Test hundred. Morgan was never at his most fluent but it is a blessing of his, as of all outstanding batsmen, that he does not let such matters concern him.
He was dropped for the third time when he was on 95 and his dismissal led to what these days for England amounts to a clatter of wickets. Ravi Bopara, having waited two years for his Test career to be resumed then had to wait two days for a bat.
It was all over in 10 minutes, Bopara leg before propping forward to Amit Mishra. It was out, but if there is a batting god he was being as kind to Bopara as he was to Sehwag later. All the favours were being bestowed elsewhere.
Matt Prior perished in the cause of quick runs – he knows no other way, of course, though he might have been surprised to see India taking a good, running catch – before Cook found in Tim Bresnan the partner who would see him safely through to 300.
It was clear by now that this was England's intention and with so much time left in the match it was eminently reasonable. England were interrupted three times during the day, first for a rain shower and then twice for bad light when the floodlights failed temporarily.
The latter two breaks showed cricket at its daftest. Bad light is now entirely in the province of the umpires. Players cannot appeal for it and are discouraged from engaging in discussion about it. When the meter reaches a certain level the officials seemingly decide that play cannot continue.
Understandably, they were booed when they left the first time. England were 563 for 3; the danger did not seem imminent. Soon enough, without any discernible improvement, the umpires relented.
After tea, Bresnan became expansive, and Cook followed his lead. He recognised that all of England wanted him to reach the landmark but also needed to have India batting for a second time before close of play. He had virtually dashed into the 290s and hardly put a foot wrong when Ishant Sharma propelled a ball from wide of the crease which was well outside off stump. Cook reached for it and saw it spoon in the air towards point where Suresh Raina ran in and held the dipping catch.
Cook was disappointed but it was small fry. Ten minutes later, Gautam Gambhir took three runs off the first ball of Jimmy Anderson's first over. It brought Sehwag on strike. He was lured into following an outswinger which he edged to first slip. Two balls in his comeback Test match, scores of 0 and 0. Now that was disappointment.
Stats Magic: The numbers that matter from the third day
5000:
Despite a forecast for early-morning showers (which duly arrived), 5,000 litres of water were sprinkled on to the Edgbaston outfield overnight to keep the grass green and healthy. It is reckoned that these super-absorbent outfields would need at least three inches of rain in an hour to be overwhelmed.
207:
Rahul Dravid dropped two slip catches during England's first innings – and one of them, when reprieving Eoin Morgan, was an absolute sitter. Surprising? Definitely, since he has held more catches (207) than any other fielder in Test cricket.
9:
The century stand between Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan was England's ninth three-figure partnership of the series. India had only one before the start of their second innings at Edgbaston.
32,000,000:
The pavilion redevelopment of Edgbaston may have cost £32m but it was still the source of the power cut that caused the floodlights to fail and meant play was suspended because of bad light.
50:
Alastair Cook scored the 50th double century by an England player yesterday. It was also thesecond highest score against India, overtaking Geoff Boycott's infamously slow 246 not out at Headingley in '67.
18:
England have now recorded 18 partnerships of 100 or more this summer, easily surpassing the 15 they accumulated in 2004.
8:
It was the eighth time that England had achieved a first- innings lead of above 400 in Tests.
3rd Test: It's time for India's redemption
It is the proverbial moment of truth for India. In their 18-month reign at the top of the Test cricket, the team has encountered many a crunch moment but none bigger than this one.
The third Test against England, starting here on Wednesday, puts everything — series, ranking, reputation and, of course, pride — at stake. It is the biggest test yet (pun intended) for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and for the collective character of his men.
A 0-2 deficit in a four-match Test series is not a situation of adversity but hopelessness. Trying to overtake England at this stage could be like chasing Sebastian Vettel in an HRT car. The odds, no wonder, are heavily stacked against an Indian win in the third Test and the series overall. In England, they have already started celebrating their rise to the top. Andrew Strauss’s men are being hailed as the best Test team ever.
Dhoni agreed that it has been the toughest tour for his side. “If you consider injuries, fitness, form — everything, there are quite a few things to worry about. It’s difficult to recall (any other) but it’s among the most difficult tour (I’ve been involved in).”
But this adversity is nothing new for Dhoni’s men. They bounced back in South Africa when the chips were down. After losing in the first Test at Centurion, they came back to win the match in Durban to level the series. There are, in fact, cold similarities between Durban 2010 and Birmingham 2011. It is just that the task, this time, is two times more difficult. India, sure, will have to raise the roof.
The team’s journey so far has been in reverse gear so far and they will have to change the gears fast to catch up with the high-flying England. They got the much-needed boost when Virender Sehwag joined the squad. The opener has the ability to drive the team in the 10th gear but the problems for India are more in bowling than in batting. Without Zaheer Khan, the Indian bowling has looked like a listless club attack. Even S Sreesanth, for all his aggression, has done little to protect his reputation.
The conditions in Edgbaston could inspire the team to surprise the hosts. The thin grass layer on the wicket could provide the much-needed elixir for the bowlers. Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar besides Sreesanth may relish the conditions as much as much as the home team bowlers.
Indian batting has not exactly fired in the series so far. Rahul Dravid stood tall like the Wall he is known to be but he has had little support from his colleagues. It is time Sachin Tendulkar joined forces with the likes of Dravid and VVS Laxman. He would do the team immense service if he could achieve the much-awaited 100th century here.
But a lot could depend on Sehwag and the start he provides. “He is a dynamic player, he backs his instincts to play shots, irrespective of what bowler he is facing. He looks at the ball, gives it the treatment it deserves. He is an aggressive opener, who has a big impact on opposition bowlers. He is a very good batsman to have in the side,” the India skipper said.
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