PUT YOUR COLA IN THE FREEZER

Colas are being left in the cold... literally. In the latest round of the Cola controversy, the government of Kerala has banned the production and sale of soft drinks marketed by Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the State. The state of Karnataka too has decided to ban the sale of 11 brands of soft drinks (including Pepsi and Coca-Cola), in educational institutions and hospitals from August 14. Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have already banned the sale of Pepsi and Coca Cola in educational institutions and government offices. This comes days after the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) claim that aerated drinks contain higher levels of pesticide residues than ever before. The Kerala government’s decision came in the wake of a recommendation made by the ruling Left Democratic Front’s state committee, and now the fate of the Coca- Cola plant at Plachimada and the Pepsi unit at Puthussery hangs by a slender thread. Meanwhile, Karnataka has announced that the sale of Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Blue, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Thums Up, and 7UP will be banned within 100 metres of all schools, colleges and hospitals across the state. The state has also sought the Centre’s opinion on slapping a total ban on the sale of soft drinks. However, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has said that banning colas indiscriminately like this is likely to hurt India’s credibility and investment climate.

Smell the smoke, catch the fire...Environment Calendar...

...so now you’d know what to do next summer!
Dec 26, 2004: Tsunami hits Northern Sumatra killing more than 120,000 people. Aug 29, 2005: New Orleans devastated by hurricane Katrina, washing off almost half the population. Jan 26, 2001: Gujarat earthquake leaves thousands dead and over 1 lac injured. In its World Disasters Report, the International Federation of Red Cross estimated a total of 6342 disasters that killed over 1,009,470 people.

Have you ever wished that there were a mechanism with which you could’ve known of all the retribution that mother nature has in store for us? Fantasy not for long, thanks to the science ministry of Japan which is due to commence a project (making use of the “fastest machine” – the Earth Simulator Supercomputer) next year that would be able to forecast weather severities for a span of thirty years and predict every climatic adversity aeons before it actually happened. So then it won’t come as a surprise if, after a few years, you’d know enough to reschedule your year 2015 trip to Switzerland for fear of an avalanche! But take it easy... by the way predictions have failed miserably in the past, you know better than to take them at face value. Yet, no harm in precaution! Of course, for “... tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today,” doesn’t it?

BUZZING PAST

One major feature of Polish roads is that they showcase an array of cars. And why not? Automobile manufacturing is the star sector of Poland. The low cost high quality characteristic of the Polish auto sector provides enough cars not only for internal consumption, but also for exports. Automobiles and related parts accounted for about 13% of the total Polish exports for the first nine months of 2005. Almost all global auto majors including Toyota, Isuzu, Volkswagen, MAN, Volvo, General Motors, Fiat and Opel are having their manufacturing setups in the country. According to the latest figures by the Department of Analysis & Forecasting, Warsaw, the motor vehicle manufacturing industry saw a pretty healthy 20.5% growth for the quarter ending March 2006.

A Call to Honour...

But his recent ‘A Call to Honour...’ is what perhaps India would remember him by. For records, the book refers to an official in P. V. Narasimha Rao’s Prime Ministerial Office who leaked secret information about India’s nuclear plans to USA. It’s a serious charge & amounts to treason. PM Manmohan Singh struck back, asking for the name of the mole and evidence to substantiate the allegation. Jaswant had none, neither the name nor the evidence. The meek evidence – a letter also met a similar fate. Both its alleged author Thomas Graham (then a programme officer at Rockfeller Foundation) and recipient Harry Barnes (former US envoy), denied the existence of such a letter, leaving Jaswant red-faced. The development has been a major embarrassment to the BJP with many party leaders demanding his head. “It was an avoidable controversy,” said his Rajya Sabha colleague, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Congress leader Jayanti Natrajan went a step further accusing Singh of kicking off the row to sell his book.

So does this controversy portend the demise of this soldier’s future? If such controversies had the power to do that, then perhaps half of India’s parliamentarians might not have existed as on date, eh! The soldier surely continues to plod, and rise with the power of the pen!

CHINKS IN ARMOUR? OR CHUNKS?

Though Raju might be quite content with the current state of affairs, the most urgent fact is that Satyam suffers an issue, that can cripple it in no time at all. Manpower costs of Satyam for the year ending March 2006 were a mammoth 58.27% of net sales, which is higher than the Big Three. A report by Enkay Research cautions that with salary hikes effective in July 2006, “operating margins are expected to decline further during the second quarter.” Srinivas Vadlamani, CFO, Satyam, counter-claims, “Given that manpower related costs form a major expense portion, our endeavour has been to constantly improve productivity & search for innovative ways to trim overheads to sustain margins.”