According to a recent World Wealth report, the recession has pushed some billionaires back into the millionaire bracket. I know, it’s difficult to lament.  Despite the loss of billions, they are still the richest guys in the world!

Here is the list:

1. Bill Gates

2. Warren Buffet

3. Carlos Slim Helú

4. Lawrence Ellison

5.Ingvar Kamprad

6. Karl Albrecht

7. Mukesh Ambani

8. Lakshmi Mittal

9. Theo Albrecht

10. Amancio Ortega

To read more about them, you can check out how people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett lost billions due to the stock market crash that followed the financial crisis, they are still ultra-high net worth individuals. Forbes offers a list of the 10 richest people in the world — and how they got their money.

RIL See Retail Sector as an Major Value Creator : Ambani

Reliance Industries has identified retail sector as an important component of its five-platform roadmap for value creation.

The other value creators include conventional and renewable energy space, innovation and rural transformation, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said.

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Reliance’s efforts would be on expanding the edifice created by Reliance Retail at the customer end and reinforcing supply chain and logistics,” the chairman said.

Ambani added that Reliance Retail would expand to new cities, markets and form strategic alliances.

This would be done through nearly 1,000 stores, while it has 900 stores across 86 cities.

The retail company has run up losses over Rs 450 crore in last fiscal.

Ambani said RIL would diversity its conventional energy space with new accumulations in three years.

RIL proposes to accelerate their campaign in the Krishna-Godavari basin,as per the chairman.

Meanwhile, the gas production levels have crossed six billion cubic metres and the D6 field is slated for plateau production by the second half of the year 2010.

Oil production from the D26 field has 2.8 million barrels with daily peak production expected by the end of the year.

With current cash balance of nearly Rs 19,420 crore, the company expects to be debt free in 21 months, Ambani said.

Even in difficult economic environment, RIL’s capital expenditure was Rs 24,713 crore ($4.9 billion).

However, the stock market was not enthused.

On the BSE, RIL stock saw a marginal drop of 0.65 per cent to close at Rs 2,133.75 per share.

“Whatever Mr Ambani has said is old. There is nothing to cheer investors.However, overall sentiment is positive.”

Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head, SMC Capital, and other market analysts feels so.

Forbes in a special report on Nov 11, has released a list of 67 most important people in the world.

Here is the full list.

Obama for the most obvious reasons stands on top of this list. Four of them are Indians. Osama bin laden also takes a seat in this list (God knows where he is now)

For the full report click here

On November 17, when chairman Mukesh Ambani addresses Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting, he is likely to announce the group’s next foray: education.

India’s biggest business house is planning to launch a private university in line with the Ivy League institutions, says a company insider, though the contours are yet to be finalised. And for a country betting on its demographic dividend, that would be good news.

Already populated with corporates such as the Birlas and the Mahindras, besides private equity players and institutional investors, the sector can absorb a lot more by way of private investment.

According to an IDFC-SSKI report, Indians spend $50 billion annually on private education. The four segments of the education market — plus two, higher, vocational and supplemental — present a $80-billion opportunity by 2012. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16%, says a CLSA Pacific study. Read More >>

The recent Ambani Gas Dispute has raised many questions regarding privatization of national assets and competition law. The whole controversy mainly concerns with supply and pricing of natural gas between Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani. The dispute has its origins in Reliance Industries split in 2005, where a family agreement was reached between two brothers, brokered by their mother Kokilaben. According to the family pact, Mukesh Ambani headed Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) agreed to supply natural gas at the price of 2.34$ per unit to Reliance Natural Resource Limited, headed by Anil Ambani. Now after five years of the family pact, RIL says it can only sell natural gas for $4.20 per unit, claiming this is the price approved by the government. The core issue of the whole dispute is the legality of the family pact reached between two brothers during Reliance Industries split. In June, the Mumbai High Court upheld the claim by the younger brother Anil Ambani’s group, which was challenged by Reliance Industries in the apex court. The government too has intervened in the matter as an interested party, saying ‘gas’ was the property of State and cannot be fought between rival Corporate Houses.

This leaves us with a big question of privatization of national assets. It is important to delve into this question because in assets like natural gas and oil, any slight price fluctuation can have repercussions in the whole economy. I intend to provide a brief economic analysis of how and when it is feasible to privatize national assets, especially natural resources. As far as Reliance Dispute is concerned, this analysis is very important to understand the possible consequences of the outcome of pending litigation.

The choice of private or national form of institution depends on many factors like economic conditions, human capital, political regime etc. Normally, in developing countries the institutional choices are “volatile” and keep changing from one form to another. Among many other factors, this cyclic transition is mainly determined by economic conditions of the country.  After economic recession hitting the economies across the world, we can easily see the transition from one form of institution, i.e. privatized, to another form, i.e. nationalized. This back and forth movement is natural and as mentioned earlier depends on many factors.

The choice of private or national form of institutions is mainly stated as a trade off between equality and efficiency. On a simpler note, nationalized form is preferred when the commodity is scarce and prices are high. The vice-versa of this is true for privatized form of institution. Apart from the type of commodity and price, other factors like tax regime, risk aversion and other exogenous costs determine which model is to be preferred. Globally, in natural resource and utilities sector, nationalization and privatization cyclic change are more frequent.

Developing countries like India are largely dependent on imported oil because of poor natural resources to manufacture oil. Due to this problem, generally, tax system proves to be inadequate because of fluctuating prices; therefore, all the more it is advisable to have nationalized form of institution to govern such sectors. The inadequacy of the tax regime along with poor human capital can be chiefly attributed as the reason for preferring the nationalized form. Privatization of natural resources in a country like India would only increase the existing inequality. Latin American countries and South East Asian countries are live example and have already witnessed problems due to privatization of natural resources in the past. In my opinion, privatizing, as of now, will only worsen the conditions, and increase misery in the poorly diversified productive structure.

By saying that, I am not proposing that “nationalization” is the solution of all problems in a growing economy and privatization is not required at all, but I am stating that in this cyclic transition, at this given point of time, privatization of national assets is not required.

In Reliance Gas Dispute, privatization would have grave repercussions if two companies were allowed to deal with each other in a manner to determine prices of national assets by private agreements. Not only is there the danger of worsening inequality, as mentioned earlier, but also of competition between corporates.  In view of this, many private companies have intervened in the pending litigation in Supreme Court. Needless to say, that the Mumbai High Court Judgment is of little help in this regard when it ordered RIL to supply natural gas at the price settled in family pact after assigning NTPC certain quantity at the same price.

Taking all the above points into considerations, allowing the Ambani brothers to carry on with family pact would not be a feasible decision in existing conditions. This would not only increase the competition between the two entities but also affect the economy of the country adversely.

Since the matter is pending before Supreme Court, we can expect that the court would take a strong stance on the same keeping in mind the social justice point of view. The oil found in Krishna-Godavari basin is one of the major and biggest discoveries not only in India but also in Asia. Any sort of dispute concerning oil distribution between the two rival corporate houses will only delay the national progress. Moreover, at present, when the prices of commodities are zooming high, resolving this dispute should be of high priority for corporates, government, and the Supreme Court.

“We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all”

This astonishing remark was made today in London (where I’m visiting) by Lord (Brian) Griffiths, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He was defending massive bonuses in financial services that are estimated to be exceeding £6bn this winter in Britain, despite the recent international banking collapse and government-funded rescues.

Maybe the statement’s not surprising, coming from Goldman Sachs which has just produced massive profits of $3.2bn in the third quarter of the current year, and is reported to be on track to pay its 31,700 employees salaries nearing an astonishing $700,000 average this year.

But Griffiths has a wider brief than just making money, or so it would seem, because he is also chairman of Christian Responsibility in Public Affairs, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lambeth Fund. So he’s a leading figure in the Church of England as well as a banker. Less surprisingly, he was also once a top adviser to Margaret Thatcher, one of Britain’s most socially uncaring prime ministers.

But is it Christian to defend inequality in Griffiths’ terms? Do the large cheques received by him and his colleagues and other bankers really create wealth And, in any case, is it acceptable in any religion, stated as blatantly as this?  Surely it is it even more indefensible when the gaps in wealth are as huge as they are now between financial services and other equally stressful but often more productive occupations.

Stephen Green, Chairman of HSBC and a Church of England priest, has shown more Christian consciousness. He has said banks owe what he called the “real world” an apology for the past year’s crisis. Banks, he said recently, need to “learn the lessons” related to “governance and ethics and culture within the industry” – and that included the way that banks award and control bonuses.

Even in India, international banks have been paying relatively astronomic salaries in recent years to people ranging from top executives to new recruits from management colleges. Top Indian businessmen have been debating salary levels, having been urged by prime minister Manmohan Singh to curb them at the top.

But only one, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance International (RIL), has volunteered to cut his salary – by 66% to $3.2m (in 2008-09) which itself is astronomic for India and totally unnecessary in terms of giving enough headroom for his top executives to be well rewarded. And his gesture was probably just that, aimed at polishing his image.

Of course, it is inevitable that any push for economic growth will create riches for some while leaving others behind. That has been increasingly evident in India since the 1991 economic reforms boosted unequal growth. The social price of this growth are vastly widening the gaps that are developing between the rich and the poor and that are beginning to show up in violent social and political rifts across South Asia.

One would not of course wish the Naxalites on Griffiths and his colleagues, but his arrogant remarks today in London surely deserve to be dammed internationally.

The bonus came a surprise to RIL investors he said ‘It’s a value creation cycle, any project, the end objective is to create value, we make sure that everybody is rewarded and in this value creation cycle – the biggest in our history nearly Rs. 100,000 crore of asset coming on line. The natural gas has really helped the fertilizer and power economy, after stakeholders it was shareholders turn and this was a commitment that we have made and we are committed to’

Mukeshbhai is vegetarian and his favourite places are Mysore Cafe in Matunga, he loves paanki at Swati Snacks, it is part of their menu also on his private plane.

Referring to global commodity prices he said ‘what we have been used to for the last 20-30 years and what we are going to see in the next 20-30 years – that’s a reset. You can apply it to many different things, but reset is a reset. It’s a new way of adjustment to a new reality.

He is the late riser, gets up at 10.30 in the morning, watches bollywood movies till late night, his favourite heroes are SRK, Hrithik and Aamir, he reaches office at noon and works till late night, his best friends in the Industry are Mr. Anand Mahindra, Mr. Adi Godrej and Mr. Anand Jain, he never leaves home without praying.

Asking about our Balance sheet has still some question marks he said ‘we look good, relative to the $1 trillion plus (Rs 46 trillion) deficit in the US, Globally I think that we need to see a clear recovery path in terms of how we repair balance sheet and how do we repair balance sheets of countries, balance sheet of consumers in the developed world. Within that, India is still a very small part of that world and the good news is that our balance sheet is strong. The country is strong, our consumers are not leveraged, our corporate are good and our economy has a lot of potential.

When guests are home, he enquires what they want to eat; he will always serve a special dish with his own hands to his guests. He never celebrated his birthday, except his 50th at Jamnagar plant with his employees, the preparation took almost 3 months for his birthday bash. He wears similar clothes to his dad; white shirt and dark trousers, he has no knowledge of brands, he wears anything that fit him, he is never seen wearing brown shoes, he likes basic food daal, chawal, roti, subzi etc, and he can eat anywhere so long the food is tasty and vegetarian.

Referring to next value creation cycle he said ‘we have laid that down pretty well, but you have to wait till next AGM to get specifics of that, but direction is not changing at all.

Well done Sir, keep it up all the RIL investors are with you;

The government on Friday lauded RIL chief Mukesh Ambani’s decision to take a pay cut and said that the industrialist has shown a “remarkable sensibility” towards the prevailing scenario with this voluntary step.

“What Mukesh Ambani has done is laudable…it’s a good decision,” said Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who recently sparked a debate on executive compensation by advising the industry to shun vulgar CEO salaries.

On Thursday, the country’s top corporate house Reliance Industries announced that its Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani would take a pay cut and it was capping its top compensation of its top executives.

“This is part of a larger debate among corporates themselves and the government would be happy to engage in the debate,” Khurshid told reporters here.

“It is about corporate governance, which is not about remuneration alone. It’s about internal auditors, about shareholders, about disclosures and accountability.

“But taking a cut in remuneration is the most visible issue as far as the public is concerned. Whatever voluntarily a person like Mukesh Ambani has done shows remarkable sensibility to the prevailing thought process in the entire country,” the minister said.

RIL has said that its CMD would draw a salary of Rs 15 crore for 2008-09 fiscal, down nearly two-third from over Rs 44 crore last year, and this reflected “his desire to set a personal example of moderation in executive compensation”.

is Salman Khurshid, India’s Corporate Affairs Minister.

First, for suggesting that CEO’s should not get ‘vulgar’ salaries.

In India, the government has so far refrained from talking about controlling corporate salaries, but corporate affairs minister Salman Khursheed’s advice to companies on Sunday to refrain from “vulgar” salaries is sure to spark a debate on how much is too much.

(With the Mahatma’s picture on our currency, we can give up hopes of any kind of money ever being vulgar.)

Second, for his statement after Mukesh Ambani took a pay cut :

“Whatever voluntarily a person like Mukesh Ambani has done shows remarkable sensibility to the prevailing thought process in the entire country,” the minister said.

For those curious, Mukesh Ambani’s salary is down to 15 crores from 44 crores, apart from the fact that he owns a few companies here and there.

In Mr. Khurshid’s defence, he’s having a tough time as the Corporate Affairs Minister. Little did he know that he’d have to deal with the slowdown; he thought all he had to do was hook up with corporate women.

Today Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man took a very big step scaling down of his package from over Rs 44 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 15 crore. Moreover, his salary is lower than not only many other industrialists in India, but also CEOs of RIL’s global peers like ExxonMobil and Shell. Whereas his younger brother Anil Ambani took, home Rs 52 crore, much more than any other corporate in India in fiscal year 2008-09.

This happened when India’ Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed said whether or not there should be regulation on salaries of CEOs and felt that Boards and shareholders should decide the packages.

Let us hope that all other CEOs follow the same. But the big question is what is happening to the rest of the money.

I think rest of the money will be reflected as profit on company balance sheet, it can be use as reserve, can also be use for expansion or it can be given to shareholder. Reliance has yet not spoken what they are planning to do with it. But I don’t think they will even speak about it because it is not too much concern talk for company and does not even matter for Reliance what will they do with remaining Rs 29 crore.

Statements by Ambani brothers nudge shares up

The shares of companies in the respective stables of the two feuding Ambani brothers opened on a higher note Monday, a day after the olive branch from younger Anil, that was welcomed as a “positive indicator” by Mukesh.

Reliance Natural Resources, the energy arm of Anil Ambani group that is fighting a legal battle on gas supplies with the Mukesh-led group, was ruling at Rs. 86.35 with a gain of 4.04 percent, an hour into trading, after touching a high of Rs. 87.15.

Reliance Industries, the flagship of the Mukesh-led group, was quoting 1.58 percent higher at Rs. 2,133 after touching Rs. 2,140.00, data with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) showed.

Analysts said though the movement forward was positive it was more in the form of a token rise, as many issues remained unresolved, including the crucial matter over supplies of gas from Reliance Industries to the Anil Ambani group.

“There are too many ifs and buts,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, equities head of leading brokerage and capital markets consultancy SMC Capital.

“Till the market gets a clear indication, these developments may not make too much of an impact.”

After a pilgrimage to two holy shrines Sunday, Anil sent a conciliatory message to elder brother Mukesh, saying there was ample scope to end their dispute amicably.

“There can be no better gift to my mother, Smt. Kokilaben Ambani, in her 75th year, and to the legacy of our beloved father, Shri Dhirubhai Ambani, the proud creator of the Reliance Group,” Anil said after the pilgrimage to Badrinath and Kedarnath.

The move was welcomed by the other side, which said there can be no contentious issue that cannot be resolved by mutual dialogue.

But the statement by Reliance Industries also made it clear that the dispute over gas has to be settled by the Supreme Court.

Finally Anil Ambani has sent a conciliatory message to elder brother Mukesh Ambani saying that there was ample scope to amicably end their long-drawn dispute,the bitterness and rancour.“There can be no better gift to my mother,Smt. Kokilaben Ambani,in her 75th year,and to the legacy of our beloved father,Shri Dhirubhai Ambani,the proud creator of the Reliance Group,”Anil Ambani said in a statement after undertaking a pilgrimage to Badrinath and Kedarnath.

He said that many of his late father’s friends and family members have talked about need to break the impasse and find a solution that puts an end to“bitterness and rancour”,making way for substantial future growth and value creation for the country and shareholders.“I agree with each one of them.This has been a time of deep sadness and pain for me personally.Yet,throughout this very trying period,I have maintained the greatest of love, affection and respect for Mukesh bhai, as I have done since my birth,”he said.“In that spirit,I have made this pilgrimage today to the holy shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath,in the hope of seeking divine inspiration and blessings,in trying to heal the wounds, and in making a renewed effort to resolve, reconcile and reciprocate,”he said.“I sincerely believe that Mukeshbhai and I can,even at this late stage,sort out all our disagreements,in a constructive, cordial and conciliatory manner,if we both commit to getting this done,”he said,adding the process will barely take a few weeks.

The younger Ambani sibling said he had hoped all issues regarding the reorganization of the Reliance group had been resolved in June 2005 with the approval of his mother to bring harmony within the family and generate wealth for millions of shareholders.“Unfortunately, the joy of that achievement has been tempered by the sorrow,pain and anguish of continuing disagreement and acrimony with my elder brother,”he said,adding he also had to take the recourse of litigation.

“The issues are only a handful,and the facts are well known.My judgement says that they can all be resolved in a matter of weeks,and will not require several months of discussions.”This message comes barely 10 days before the Supreme Court hears a crucial dispute between two companies in their groups over the supply of natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari fields.

अहो.. ऐकलंत कां?? मी काय म्हणते, भाउजींनी बघा कशी वैनिंच्या साठी मोठ्ठी ’३४ फुट लांबीची याट घेतली विकत ४०० कोटी रुपयांना, नाहितर तुम्ही .. तुमचं मेलं माझ्यावर प्रेमच नाही.

अगं.. असं कसं म्हणतेस, आत्ताच एक दिड वर्षांपुर्विच तर तुझ्यासाठी ती एअर बस एक्स्प्रेस घेतली ना विकत.. २५० कोटी रुपयांना..

शीः.. त्याचं काय मेलं एवढं कौतुक, कधी नाही ते एक गिफ्ट दिलंत आणि आता सारखं उठता बसता, त्याचेच गोडवे गात असतात. आणि ते गिफ्ट पण काय तर म्हणे एअर बस.. आणि ती पण भाउजींच्या याट पेक्षा चक्क १५० कोटी रुपयांनी कमी.एअर बस घेउन तर दिली, पण वापरु नको म्हणता नां.. पेट्रोल वर खर्च केलेले  पैसे भाउजींच्या कंपनीला  मिळतात म्हणुन.. हुं??

तुमचं मेलं माझ्यावर प्रेमच नाही, नाहीतर तुम्ही  बघा ना, अजुनही मला विचारलंच नाही की तुला काय हवंय ?तुमचं माझ्यावर प्रेम असतं ना, तर नक्की नक्की विचारलं असतं  मला, की काय झालं राणिला??   पण माझं मेलं नशिबंच फुटकं.. कशी तुमच्यावर भाळली आणि लग्नाला होकार दिला तेच कळत नाही मला आता. कित्ती तरी हिरो  माझ्या मागे होते, पण माझा मेलीचा जीव तुमच्यावर जडला होता नां…. तरी आई म्हणाली होतीच… …………..ह्याच्या पेक्षा दुसरा कोणितरी बघ जरा व्यवस्थित पैसे वाला.. पण नाही.. माझं मन जडलं होतं ना तुमच्यावर….!!!मीच मेली मुर्ख…..

अहो मी जर सिनेमात राहिले असते नां, तर नक्कीच करोडॊ रुपये कमावले असते आणि आपलं स्वतःचं घेतलं असतं काहीतरी. भाउजी बघा, इतका मोठा पॅलेस बांधताहेत , आणि त्या पॅलेसमधे म्हणे हेलिपॅड पण आहे सगळ्यात वरच्या मजल्यावर…

काय शिंची कट कट आहे तुझी.. काय हवंय तुला सांग, आत्ता आणुन देतो.

माहितीये.. मोठ्ठे आले आणुन देणारे, तुमच्या कंपनिच्या शेअर्सची तर वाट लागलेली आहे, आणणार कुठुन तुम्ही पैसे ते सांगा आधी -तुमचं बजेट तर कळु दे, की लाडक्या बायको साठी तुम्ही किती खर्च करायला तयार आहे ते..  ..मग तुम्हाला सांगते मला काय हवंय ते….

अगं खर्चाचं काय.. पुर्वीचे दिवस असते तर एखादी नविन कंपनी लॉंच करुन शेअर्स काढले असते मार्केटला, पण सध्या रेसिशन आहे नां  ..

म्हणजे काय आता पैसे नाहित नां?? मला वाटलंच होतं…पैसे असले की तुम्ही नेहेमीच उडवुन टाकता. थोडे पैसे ठेवायला काय होतं हो तुम्हाला बाजुला? अडी अडचणिला उपयोगी पडतात.. पण नाही…. !!!!!!कधीही काहिही मागा, तुमचं आपलं तेच.. असले पैसे की घाला ‘त्या ‘पोलीटीकल नेत्याच्या   युपी मधे नाहितर त्या कंपनिच्या बोडख्यावर… कधी मेलं थोडे पैसे घरी ठेवत नाहित.

पैसे पैसे….   जळ्ळी मेली ‘युपी ‘  आणि कंपनी ती….  गुलाबी गाल फुरंगटुन ती म्हणाली.. डोळ्याच्या पापण्या उघडझाप करित त्याच्या कडे पहात…

अगं असं काय करतेस..पुर्ण ऐकुन तर घे.. फारच सोपंय , इलेक्ट्रिसिटीचे भाव वाढवुन टाकतो ना २ रु. ५० पैसे युनिटमागे, म्हणजे काय होईल , सगळे मराठीचे तारणहार थोडं तोडफोड वगैरे करतिल, आपल्याला धमक्य देतिल, मग आपण घाबरल्यासारखं दाखवायचं आणि २रु.५० पै. ची वाढ १रु.५० पैशांवर उतरवायची. अगं.. प्रत्येक युनिटमागे दिड रुपया म्हणजे महिन्याला ४०० कोटी सहज येतिल..

आता ’ती’चा चेहेरा उजळला होता.. माझा गुणाचा गं तो नवरा.. आणि ती एकदेम गळ्यातच  पडली. कानाच्या पाळिला हलकेच चावत ,डोळ्याच्या पापण्यांनी त्याच्या गालाला गुदगुल्या करित म्हणाली, अहो.. आम्हाला किनई…… आम्हाला किनई………….

अगं बोल ना लवकर… किती वेळ तेच ते .. काय हवंय तुम्हाला??

हॅट मेलं.. आम्ही आपलं इत्तकं प्रेमाने जवळ यावं, आणि तुम्ही…. जाउ दे.. काही नको मला…..तुमचं मेलं आमच्यावर प्रेमंच नाही….

अगं सांग नां राणी, काय हवंय तुला? मी कधी तुला नाही म्हंटलंय का कधी कुठल्याही गोष्टीला?

बरं ऐका तर…. तुम्ही ती बातमी वाचली आहे कां??

कुठ्ली गं??

अहो तिच, चंद्रावर म्हणे पाणी सापडलंय.. आणि ओबामाने पण म्हणे तिथे बॉम्ब ब्लास्ट केलाय चंद्रावर.. मस्त पैकी एक खोल खड्डा तयार झालाय म्हणे.. आपण किनई, त्या खड्ड्यामधे पाणी जमा करु, आणि त्या खड्ड्याशेजारीच एक मोठासा प्लॉट घेउन मस्तपैकी पॅलेस बांधु या कां??त्या खड्यातल्या पाण्यामधे मस्तपैकी बदकं सोडू आपण.. कित्ती छान वाटेल नं संध्याकाळच्या वेळी मस्तपैकी गरम गरम मसाला चहाचे घोट घेत समोर बसायला??

त्या पॅलेस मधे किनई, आपण, स्पेश शिप लॅंडिग पॅड पण बनवु या.. तुम्ही आपलं ओबामाला सांगुन एक प्लॉट बुक करुनच टाका, किमती वाढायच्या आत. नाहितर भाउजी आहेतच, ते कदाचित सगळा चंद्रच घेउन टाकतिल विकत वैनींसाठी , मग आपल्याला जावं लागेल शनीच्या चंद्रावर. खुप दुर आहे म्हणतात तो चंद्र….. आपला हा पृथ्वी जवळचा चंद्रच बरा…

कौतुकाने बायको कडे पहात.. कित्ती हुषार आहेस गं तु.. पण मला असं वाट्तंय की आपणच पुर्ण चंद्र विकत घेउन टाकला तर?? म्हणजे काय आपण आपली चोरवडची वडिलोपार्जित जमिन विकुन टाकु आणि चंद्रावर इन्व्हेस्टमेंट करु ..तिथे आपण मस्त पैकी एक शॉपिंग कॉम्प्लेक्स उघडु या. सेव्हन स्टार हॉटेल पण उघडु , तिथे आपण खास हनी मुन सुट बनवु आणि भाड्याने देउन खुप पैसे कमाउ.. कशी वाटते आयडीया??

खरंच  हो, खुपच मस्त आह आयडिया,  लहानपणापासुन आईला बघायची ना चंद्राला ओवाळतांना, तेंव्हापासुनच मला हवा होता तो चंद्र.. आईला पण बरं होईल जेंव्हा हवं तेंव्हा ओवाळायला, नाहितर काय हो.. अमावस्येला खुप प्रॉब्लेमच यायचा नां…..बिच्चारीची मान लागुन यायची चंद्र शोधुन.. पण आता बरं होईल , चंद्रावरंच रहायला गेलो, की सरळ खाली बघुन तिला ओवाळता येइल चंद्राला..

मस्तंच हो.. आणि तिने त्याच्या गळ्यात हात घातला, त्याचा सेल फोन बंद केला, लॅंडलाइनचा रिसिव्हर उचलुन ठेवला, रिमोट कंट्रोलने एसी चा थंडावा कमी करुन , त्याच रिमोटने दार बंद केलं…… ..अंगावरची सोलापुरी चादर दुर फेकली पंखा फुल स्पिडवर करुन -मच्छरदाणी चारही बाजुंनी नीट खोचली……………अरे बस की आता किती लिहायचं.. … 

हो.. त्यांच्याही घरच्या मच्छरदाणित अशिच कुजबुज होत असते बरं कां.. फारसं काही वेगळं नसतं…….त्यांचं पण आयुष्य….. :

मित्रांनॊ, हा विषय अनुजाने दिला, आणि मला पण खुप आवडला, म्हणुन हा लेख लिहिलाय.. खरं तर विनोदी लिहिण्याचा मला काही फारसा सराव नाही, तरी पण एक नविन प्रयत्न  .. .. वरच्या लेखामधले ’ती’ आणि ’तो’ कोण आहे हे वेगळं सांगायची गरजच नसावी…

dryadusingh Top wealthy people in the world:many Indians in it. Have a look. http://bit.ly/44qQ7k

Mukesh Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal and Anil Ambani are there.

Visit the list further and see which King/Queen/Prince/Head of State is in it.

Mr Asif Ali Zardari is in it too and PM Kevin Rudd is also mentioned. PM Man Mohan Singh is not there.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This list of billionaires is based (where not otherwise noted) on an annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people compiled and published by Forbes magazine on March 11, 2009.^[1] The listed net worth represents the estimated value of assets less debt as of February 13, 2009.^[2] The list does not include heads of state whose wealth is tied to their position (see List of heads of state and government by net worth).

The world’s 5 wealthiest people

Bill Gates

Warren Buffett

Carlos Slim Helú

Lawrence Ellison

Ingvar Kamprad

Top billionaires

The following list is the ranking of the world’s richest billionaires as of February 13, 2009, and does not reflect changes since then.

No.	Name	Net worth (USD)	Age	Citizenship	Residence	Sources of wealth	Ref.
&0000000000000001.0000001▲	Gates, BillBill Gates	$40.0 billion ▼	53	United States	United States	Microsoft	[3]
&0000000000000002.0000002▼	Buffett, WarrenWarren Buffett	$37.0 billion ▼	78	United States	United States	Berkshire Hathaway	[3]
&0000000000000003.0000003▼	Helú, Carlos SlimCarlos Slim Helú	$35.0 billion ▼	69	Mexico	Mexico	Telmex, América Móvil	[3]
&0000000000000004.0000004▲	Ellison, LawrenceLawrence Ellison	$22.5 billion ▼	64	United States	United States	Oracle Corporation	[3]
&0000000000000005.0000005▲	Kamprad, IngvarIngvar Kamprad and family	$22.0 billion ▼	83	Sweden	Switzerland	IKEA	[4]
&0000000000000006.0000006▲	Albrecht, KarlKarl Albrecht	$21.5 billion ▼	89	Germany	Germany	Aldi Süd	[4]
&0000000000000007.0000007▼	Ambani, MukeshMukesh Ambani	$19.5 billion ▼	51	India	India	Reliance Industries	[4]
&0000000000000008.0000008▼	Mittal, LakshmiLakshmi Mittal	$19.3 billion ▼	58	India	United Kingdom	Arcelor Mittal	[4]
&0000000000000009.0000009▲	Albrecht, TheoTheo Albrecht	$18.8 billion ▼	87	Germany	Germany	Aldi Nord, Trader Joe’s	[5]
&0000000000000010.00000010▲	Ortega, AmancioAmancio Ortega	$18.3 billion ▼	73	Spain	Spain	Inditex Group	[6]
&0000000000000011.00000011▲	Walton, JimJim Walton	$17.8 billion ▼	61	United States	United States	Wal-Mart	[7]
&0000000000000012.00000012▲	Walton, AliceAlice Walton	$17.6 billion ▼	59	United States	United States	Wal-Mart	[7]
&0000000000000012.00000012▲	Walton, ChristyChristy Walton	$17.6 billion ▼	54	United States	United States	Wal-Mart	[7]
&0000000000000012.00000012▲	Walton, S. RobsonS. Robson Walton	$17.6 billion ▼	65	United States	United States	Wal-Mart	[7]
&0000000000000015.00000015▼	Arnault, BernardBernard Arnault	$16.5 billion ▼	60	France	France	LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton	[8]
&0000000000000016.00000016▼	Ka-shing, LiLi Ka-shing	$16.2 billion ▼	80	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Cheung Kong Holdings, Hutchison Whampoa	[9]
&0000000000000017.00000017▲	Bloomberg, MichaelMichael Bloomberg	$16.0 billion ▲	67	United States	United States	Bloomberg L.P.	[6]
&0000000000000018.00000018▲	Persson, StefanStefan Persson	$14.5 billion ▼	61	Sweden	Sweden	Hennes & Mauritz
&0000000000000019.00000019▲	Koch, CharlesCharles Koch	$14.0 billion ▼	73	United States	United States	Koch Industries	[10]
&0000000000000019.00000019▲	Koch, David H.David H. Koch	$14.0 billion ▼	68	United States	United States	Koch Industries	[10]
&0000000000000021.00000021▼	Bettencourt, LilianeLiliane Bettencourt	$13.4 billion ▼	86	France	France	L’Oréal	[3]
&0000000000000022.00000022▼	Alsaud, Prince Alwaleed Bin TalalPrince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud	$13.3 billion ▼	54	Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	Kingdom Holding Company, Citigroup	[11]
&0000000000000023.00000023▲	Otto, MichaelMichael Otto and family	$13.2 billion ▼	65	Germany	Germany	Otto GmbH
&0000000000000024.00000024▲	Thomson, DavidDavid Thomson and family	$13.0 billion ▼	51	Canada	Canada	The Thomson Corporation	[12]
&0000000000000025.00000025▲	Dell, MichaelMichael Dell	$12.3 billion ▼	44	United States	United States	Dell
&0000000000000026.00000026▲	Bren, DonaldDonald Bren	$12.0 billion ▼	76	United States	United States	Irvine Company
&0000000000000026.00000026▲	Brin, SergeySergey Brin	$12.0 billion ▼	35	United States	United States	Google	[3]
&0000000000000026.00000026▲	Page, LarryLarry Page	$12.0 billion ▼	36	United States	United States	Google	[3]
&0000000000000029.00000029▲	Ballmer, StevenSteven Ballmer	$11.0 billion ▼	53	United States	United States	Microsoft	[13]
&0000000000000029.00000029▲	Westminster, The Duke ofThe Duke of Westminster and family	$11.0 billion ▼	57	United Kingdom	United Kingdom	Grosvenor Group	[14]
&0000000000000029.00000029▲	Soros, GeorgeGeorge Soros	$11.0 billion ▲	78	United States	United States	Soros Fund Management
&0000000000000032.00000032▲	Allen, PaulPaul Allen	$10.5 billion ▼	56	United States	United States	Microsoft	[11]
&0000000000000032.00000032▼	Kwok, RaymondRaymond Kwok, Thomas Kwok, and Walter Kwok	$10.5 billion ▼	57, 58, and 59	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Sun Hung Kai
&0000000000000034.00000034▼	Ambani, AnilAnil Ambani	$10.1 billion ▼	49	India	India	Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group	[4]
&0000000000000035.00000035▲	Johnson, AbigailAbigail Johnson	$10.0 billion ▼	47	United States	United States	Fidelity Investments
&0000000000000035.00000035▲	Klatten, SusanneSusanne Klatten	$10.0 billion ▼	46	Germany	Germany	BMW
&0000000000000035.00000035▲	Perelman, RonaldRonald Perelman	$10.0 billion ▲	66	United States	United States	Revlon
&0000000000000035.00000035▲	Rausing, HansHans Rausing	$10.0 billion ▬	83	Sweden	United Kingdom	Tetra Laval	[14]
&0000000000000039.00000039▲	Rausing, BirgitBirgit Rausing and family	$9.9 billion ▼	85	Sweden	Switzerland	Tetra Laval
&0000000000000040.00000040▲	Ferrero, MicheleMichele Ferrero and family	$9.5 billion ▼	82	Italy	Monaco	Ferrero
&0000000000000040.00000040▼	Prokhorov, MikhailMikhail Prokhorov	$9.5 billion ▼	43	Russia	Russia	Interros	[15]
&0000000000000040.00000040▲	Taylor, Jack C.Jack C. Taylor and family	$9.5 billion ▼	86	United States	United States	Enterprise Rent-A-Car
&0000000000000043.00000043▲	Al Amoudi, MohammedMohammed Al Amoudi	$9.0 billion ▬	63	Ethiopia/ Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia/ Ethiopia	Corral Petroleum Holdings
&0000000000000043.00000043▼	Chambers, Anne CoxAnne Cox Chambers	$9.0 billion ▼	89	United States	United States	Cox Enterprises
&0000000000000043.00000043▲	Icahn, CarlCarl Icahn	$9.0 billion ▼	73	United States	United States	American Car and Foundry Company	[16]
&0000000000000043.00000043▲	Kaiser, GeorgeGeorge Kaiser	$9.0 billion ▼	66	United States	United States	BOK Financial Corporation
&0000000000000043.00000043▼	Kee, Lee ShauLee Shau Kee	$9.0 billion ▼	81	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Henderson Land Development
&0000000000000043.00000043▲	Mars, Jr., Forrest EdwardForrest Edward Mars, Jr.	$9.0 billion ▼	77	United States	United States	Mars, Incorporated	[16]
&0000000000000043.00000043▲	Mars, JacquelineJacqueline Mars	$9.0 billion ▼	69	United States	United States	Mars, Incorporated	[16]
&0000000000000043.00000043▲	Mars, JohnJohn Mars	$9.0 billion ▼	72	United States	United States	Mars, Incorporated	[16]
&0000000000000051.00000051▼	Abramovich, RomanRoman Abramovich	$8.5 billion ▼	42	Russia	Russia	Millhouse Capital	[17]
&0000000000000052.00000052▲	Bertarelli, ErnestoErnesto Bertarelli	$8.2 billion ▼	43	Switzerland	Switzerland	Serono
&0000000000000052.00000052▲	Knight, PhilipPhilip Knight	$8.2 billion ▼	71	United States	United States	Nike
&0000000000000054.00000054▼	Al-Kharafi, NasserNasser Al-Kharafi and family	$8.1 billion ▼	65	Kuwait	Kuwait	M. A. Kharafi & Sons
&0000000000000055.00000055▲	Simons, JamesJames Simons	$8.0 billion ▲	70	United States	United States	Renaissance Technologies
&0000000000000055.00000055▲	Wertheimer, AlainAlain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer	$8.0 billion ▼	60 and 59	France	United States  Switzerland	Chanel
&0000000000000057.00000057▲	Al Ghurair, Abdul AzizAbdul Aziz Al Ghurair & family	$7.8 billion ▲	55	United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	Mashreq Bank
&0000000000000057.00000057▲	Alakbarov, VahidVahid Alakbarov	$7.8 billion ▼	58	Russia	Russia	LUKoil
&0000000000000059.00000059▲	Mittal, SunilSunil Mittal and family	$7.7 billion ▼	51	India	India	Bharti Airtel
&0000000000000060.00000060▼	Pinault, FrançoisFrançois Pinault and family	$7.6 billion ▼	72	France	France	PPR
&0000000000000061.00000061▲	Batista, EikeEike Batista	$7.5 billion ▲	51	Brazil	Brazil	EBX Group
&0000000000000062.00000062▲	Al Jaber, Mohamed Bin IssaMohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber	$7.0 billion ▲	50	Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia
&0000000000000062.00000062▲	Al-Sanea, MaanMaan Al-Sanea	$7.0 billion ▼	54	Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	Saad Group
&0000000000000062.00000062▲	Johnson, III, EdwardEdward Johnson, III	$7.0 billion ▼	78	United States	United States	Fidelity Investments
&0000000000000062.00000062▲	Krishnan, AnandaAnanda Krishnan	$7.0 billion ▼	70	Malaysia	Malaysia	Maxis, Astro
&0000000000000062.00000062▲	Kuok, RobertRobert Kuok	$7.0 billion ▼	85	Malaysia	Hong Kong	Perlis Plantations Bhd
&0000000000000062.00000062▲	Safra, JosephJoseph Safra	$7.0 billion ▼	70	Brazil	Brazil	Safra Group
&0000000000000068.00000068▲	Bezos, JeffreyJeffrey Bezos	$6.8 billion ▼	45	United States	United States	Amazon.com
&0000000000000069.00000069▲	von Finck, Jr., AugustAugust von Finck, Jr.	$6.7 billion ▼	79	Germany	Switzerland	Allianz
&0000000000000070.00000070▲	Berlusconi, SilvioSilvio Berlusconi and family	$6.5 billion ▼	72	Italy	Italy	Fininvest
&0000000000000071.00000071▲	Del Vecchio, LeonardoLeonardo Del Vecchio	$6.3 billion ▼	73	Italy	Italy	Luxottica
&0000000000000071.00000071▲	Engelhorn, CurtCurt Engelhorn	$6.3 billion ▼	82	Germany	Switzerland	Roche
&0000000000000071.00000071▼	Fridman, MikhailMikhail Fridman	$6.3 billion ▼	44	Russia	Russia	Alfa Group
&0000000000000074.00000074▲	Al Rajhi, SulaimanSulaiman Al Rajhi	$6.2 billion ▼	89	Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	Al-Rajhi Bank
&0000000000000075.00000075▲	Goodnight, JamesJames Goodnight	$6.1 billion ▼	66	United States	United States	SAS Institute
&0000000000000076.00000076▲	Fontbona, IrisIris Fontbona (widow of Andronico Luksic) and family	$6.0 billion ▼		Chile	Chile	Antofagasta PLC, Quiñenco
&0000000000000076.00000076▲	Kellner, PetrPetr Kellner	$6.0 billion ▼	44	Czech Republic	Czech Republic	PPF Group
&0000000000000076.00000076▲	Kluge, JohnJohn Kluge	$6.0 billion ▼	94	United States	United States	Metromedia	[6]
&0000000000000076.00000076▲	Paulson, JohnJohn Paulson	$6.0 billion ▲	53	United States	United States
&0000000000000076.00000076▲	Yanai, TadashiTadashi Yanai & family	$6.0 billion ▲	60	Japan	Japan	Fast Retailing
&0000000000000081.00000081▲	Duncan, DanDan Duncan	$5.9 billion ▼	76	United States	United States	Enterprise Products
&0000000000000081.00000081▲	Matte, EliodoroEliodoro Matte & family	$5.9 billion ▼	63	Chile	Chile	Compañía Manufacturera de Papeles y Cartones
&0000000000000083.00000083▲	Bailleres, AlbertoAlberto Bailleres & family	$5.7 billion ▼	76	Mexico	Mexico	Grupo Bal
&0000000000000083.00000083▼	Premji, AzimAzim Premji	$5.7 billion ▼	63	India	India	Wipro Technologies
&0000000000000083.00000083▲	Wyss, HansjorgHansjorg Wyss	$5.7 billion ▼	74	Switzerland	United States	Synthes
&0000000000000086.00000086▼	Ruia, ShashiShashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia	$5.6 billion ▼	65	India	India	Essar
&0000000000000087.00000087▲	Cohen, Steven A.Steven A. Cohen	$5.5 billion ▼	53	United States	United States	SAC Capital Partners
&0000000000000087.00000087▲	Ng Teng Fong, Ng Teng Fong	$5.5 billion ▼	80	Singapore	Singapore	Sino Group
&0000000000000087.00000087▲	Soon-Shiong, PatrickPatrick Soon-Shiong	$5.5 billion ▲	57	United States	United States	American Pharmaceutical Partners
&0000000000000090.00000090▼	Dassault, SergeSerge Dassault and family	$5.4 billion ▼	83	France	France	Dassault Group
&0000000000000090.00000090▲	Haub, ErivanErivan Haub & family	$5.4 billion ▼	76	Germany	Germany	Tengelmann Group
&0000000000000092.00000092▲	Lemann, Jorge PauloJorge Paulo Lemann	$5.3 billion ▼	69	Brazil	Brazil	Investment Bank & Anheuser-Busch InBev
&0000000000000093.00000093▲	Broad, EliEli Broad	$5.2 billion ▼	75	United States	United States	KB Home
&0000000000000093.00000093▲	Busujima, KunioKunio Busujima & family	$5.2 billion ▼	83	Japan	Japan	Sankyo
&0000000000000093.00000093▲	Kipp, Karl-HeinzKarl-Heinz Kipp	$5.2 billion ▼	85	Germany	Switzerland	Massa
&0000000000000093.00000093▼	Lisin, VladimirVladimir Lisin	$5.2 billion ▼	52	Russia	Russia	Novolipetsk Steel	[15]
&0000000000000093.00000093▲	Wurth, ReinholdReinhold Wurth	$5.2 billion ▼	73	Germany	Germany	Wurth Group
&0000000000000098.00000098▲	Anschutz, PhilipPhilip Anschutz	$5.0 billion ▼	69	United States	United States	The Anschutz Corporation
&0000000000000098.00000098▼	Kerkorian, KirkKirk Kerkorian	$5.0 billion ▼	91	United States	United States	Tracinda Corporation	[16]
&0000000000000098.00000098▲	Oppenheimer, NickyNicky Oppenheimer & family	$5.0 billion ▼	63	South Africa	South Africa	De Beers & Anglo American
&0000000000000098.00000098▲	Reuben, David and SimonDavid and Simon Reuben	$5.0 billion ▼	NA	United Kingdom	United Kingdom	real estate
&0000000000000098.00000098▼	Singh, Kushal PalKushal Pal Singh	$5.0 billion ▼	77	India	India	DLF Group	[4]
&0000000000000098.00000098▲	Weston, GalenGalen Weston & family	$5.0 billion ▼	68	Canada	Canada	George Weston Limited, Associated British Foods
&0000000000000104.000000104▲	Mansha, Mian MohammadMian Mohammad Mansha	$4.4 billion ▲	NA	Pakistan	Pakistan	Nishat Group, Muslim Commercial Bank	[18][19]
&0000000000000106.000000106▲	Jobs, SteveSteve Jobs	$3.4 billion ▼	54	United States	United States	Apple Inc.	[20]

Yadu Singh/Sydney/10-10-09

We would have not forget or regret, Reliance done really a revolution in bringing out mobile network as what it planned with CDMA based network earlier, mostly widen up the ratio of Mobile users directly or indirectly especially in India, now while various mobile manufacturing companies which had directed their view over Indian market, lining up with their respective devices. Reliance Mobile is also entering with CDMA based Blackberry Tour on its network in India.., read more>>>

The Bogus Austerity Drama (BAD) has so far been confined to a) S.M. Krishna and Shashi Tharoor moving out of their five-star Rs 1.5 lakh-a-day suites, b) Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee travelling economy class, c) Rahul Gandhi taking the Shatabdi, and d) a flood of drought-inspired sanctimony all over.

But the dictionary tells us that austerity is not just about hotel rooms and flight tickets. And it can’t just be about the Congress and its leaders. In its truest form, austerity needs to be a pan-national phenomenon in which everybody, everywhere, does less more even if it costs more to do less.

As Sarojini Naidu is said to have remarked about Mahatma Gandhi: “It costs a lot to keep him poor.”

Here are the top-10 austerity claims we hope to hear soon.

***

1) Narendra Modi: “Bhaiyon aur behenon, thanks to the lafda, what you urban, English-wallahs call kerfuffle, over the abrupt termination of oxygen intake by Sohrabuddin and Ishrat Jahan, I promise Vibrant Gujarat will have fewer fake encounters to protect its asmita. Or your trishul back, sharpened.”

2) Mukesh Ambani: “Arre baba, if nimma Nandan Nilekani who is worth 1.3 billion dollars has to shift to Karnataka Bhavan as part of the austerity drive, you think I am so greedy as to not respect my neighbours wishes and knock out the bottom-two floors of my ready-to-occupy, 2 billion-dollar, 27-storey mansion?”

3) B.S. Yediyurappa: “In the name of development and governance, as per the honourable wishes of our poojya former future prime minister, I will have one Reddy less breathing down my neck. And I will ask them to use a helicopter pool instead of flying into Bellary individually whenever they feel like eating biryani.”

4) Arundhati Roy: “Instead of 6,000 word essays which I impose on Indians twice a year, I will impose 3,000 word essays on Indians eight times in two years, which is the same thing, of course, so I will get the systems wallahs to reinsert the “Wordcount” button I had gotten removed. No wait, ‘gotten’ is American imperial English, the “Wordcount” button I had got removed.”

5) Arun Shourie: “Instead of a 5-part series on Alice in Blunderland, Humpty-Dumpty and Tarzan which even I don’t understand, I promise to write a one-part series which even you won’t understand, but you will be too ashamed to admit that you didn’t understand because I quoted the great ascetic Swami Vivekananda with Edward Rice Burroughs in all CAPS bold with triple asterisks***, footnotes¼ and accent gravuresˆ to leave you confused to the power of ∞.”

6) Nayantara: “Since the well-meaning folk at churumuri want the world to do “less more”, I promise to wear “more less” clothes in my next Telugu film, ‘Noovu isthe, nenu tees konta‘” so that there is more fabric left to cover the uncovered masses in drought-affected Andhra Pradesh.”

7) Namitha: “The men are going in for six-pack abs. The women are going in for size zero. You look at me (go on, look at me) and you tell me honestly where I should start to do my bit for the country, and I will dutifully oblige. Let’s make it a totally interactive exercise. After all, I was born in the vibrant state of Gujarat which produced the great Mahatma whose interactive programmes won us freedom.”

Sagarika Ghose: “I will reduce fazing the nation with my hi-decibel, St Stephen’s rat-a-tat which even the class teachers of Ishan and Tarini are saying they can no longer comprehend anything because they don’t know where the main clause ends and where the subclause begins, especially when Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Gurudas Dasgupta are all trying to sneak in a word between the end of the second sentence and the beginning of the third one, by which time we have to go for a short commercial break, while you watch the lively website ibnlive.com, you keep on voting, while we keep on counting.”

9)Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Gurudas Dasgupta: “As part of the austerity drive, we promise to be a little less economical with the hair-splitting.”

10) Ambarish: “I will take less, work more. I will take less, work more. I will work less, take more. I will work less, take more. I will take less, work more. I will take more, work less.”

Photographs: courtesy vinfindia.com, Karnataka Photo News,  Outlook, dailomo.com

The astonishing part about the 2004 “encounter” that consumed 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan and three others is not that it has now been declared to be “fake” but that the police officials in “India’s best governed State” were so clumsy in their attempt to cook up evidence to curry favour with “The Other Great Debator“.

The police planted the AK-56 rifle on one of the four yet said one of the four was killed by an AK-56. There was no trace of gunpowder or ammunition on any of the four suspects. The name “Salim” had been scribbed in English on the back of a photo of a Pakistani. There was only an identity card on one of them. The police magically knew the code of the number lock that contained cash of Rs 2 lakh.

Etcetera.

And now, some short messages from our corporate sponsors:

Anil Ambani: “Now, imagine what will happen to the nation if he leads the nation.”

Mukesh Ambani: “If India has 10 Chief Ministers like him, we can overcome all challenges.”

Cartoon: courtesy E.P. Unny/ The Indian Express