Antigua

avalanche New Delhi, July 27 (ANI):Controversial Bollywood actress and TV personality Rakhi Sawant expressed her willingness to marry
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev. While addressing mediapersons on the sidelines of a promotional event in New Delhi, Sawant spoke of how she also admired Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. The Drama queen admitted that Ramdev's yoga sessions have made an impact on her life. Known to be in limelight for all wrong reasons and numerous controversial acts, she has always been in the news for her raunchy videos to her controversial stay on 'Bigg Boss', or walking out of 'Nach Baliye' finale in a huff and leaving Salman Khan high and dry. If this was not enough to satiate her hunger for publicity, she hit headlines for her infamous romance with commoner Abhishek Awasthi, followed by a kissing episode with singer Mika. Her 'Rakhi Ka Swayamvar' on NDTV Imagine opened a pandora's box that not only entertained people but also had the gossip columns buzzing for months. All this helped her in paving way to one of Bollywood's most sophisticated filmmakers Karan Johar's chat show 'Koffee With Karan'. For the last one year Rakhi has been constantly courting controversy for her non-stop bloopers and blunders on the reality show 'Raki Ka Insaaf'. If one tries to list her bunglings on the small screen, it would be difficult to pen all as she has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons for more than five years. No wonder she is crowned the controversy queen.
assets under management (AUM)
London, July 22 (IANS) Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan's hamstring injury in the first Test against England has led experts to reignite the debate on whether too much cricket is taking a toll on Indian players. Former England captain Nasser Hussain also wondered whether Test cricket is a priority for the World's No.1 Test team.
Zaheer, who was the top bowler for India taking both the England wickets to fall on the opening day, strained his hamstring Thursday and hobbled out of the field. He will not bowl in the rest of the first innings, though he is expected to return in England's second innings. Hussain felt that Zaheer, who missed the West Indies series with an ankle injury, did not look fully fit for the gruelling series. India have been playing non-stop cricket since the away series in South Africa in January. They played in the World Cup and then the Indian Premier League (IPL) followed by the tour to the Caribbean. Hussain said Zaheer's absence was a 'massive' blow for India. 'India is playing too much of cricket. The players went straight to IPL from the World Cup and some of them had to be rested for the West Indies tour. Obviously, Zaheer arrived here bit undercooked and a bit unfit,' said Hussain. Unlike India, Hussain said, England have came into the big series totally prepared as their priority has always been Test cricket. 'England bowlers are ready for the Test match. The credit should go to Englandteam director Andy Flower, who doesn't allow his players to play too much of county cricket. India have to see what they want to prioritise and which is the most important form of the game for them.' Former India captain Ravi Shastri raised the point of more practice matches before the Test series. India played only one three-day game against Somerset to acclimatise to English conditions. 'If a player is out with injury, it should be ensured that he is fully fit and has bowled enough to be able to play the first Test. Questions will be asked whether S.Sreesanth or Munaf Patel should have been preferred over Zaheer.' 'A few more games would have made him (Zaheer) ready for the first Test,' Shastri said. Another former India captain, Sourav Ganguly, said Zaheer makes a lot of difference to the team. 'See what happened in South Africa when Zaheer did not play the first Test. We were a completely changed side with Zaheer playing in the second and third Tests.' Ganguly, however, said that the dependency on Zaheer is not a good sign for the team. 'That's not the way to go about it. India need to come out with five bowlers, specially for overseas,' he said.
Swap option future forward Nokia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
livemocha
This article includes inline citations, but they are not properly formatted. Please improve this article and others like it by correcting them. (April 2011)
This article is about the telecommunications corporation. For the Finnish town, see Nokia, Finland. For other uses, see Nokia (disambiguation).
Nokia Corporation
Type
Public company Oyj
Traded as
OMX: NOK1V,NYSE: NOK, FWB: NOA3
Industry
Telecommunications Internet Computer software
Founded
Tampere, Finland (1865) incorporated in Nokia (1871)
Founder(s)
Fredrik Idestam Leo Mechelin Espoo, Finland Worldwide
Headquarter s
Area served
Key people
Jorma Ollila (Chairman) Stephen Elop (President & CEO) Timo Ihamuotila (CFO) Kai istm (CDO) Richard Green (CTO)
Mobile phones Smartphones Mobile computers Networks
(See products listing)
Products
Services
Maps and navigation, music,messaging and media Software solutions

(See services listing)
Revenue
42.45 billion (2010)[1]
Operating income
2.070 billion (2010)[1]
Net income
1.850 billion (2010)[1]
Total assets
39.12 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total equity
16.23 billion (end 2010)[1]
Employees
132,430 (end 2010)[1]
Divisions
Mobile Solutions
Mobile Phones Markets
Subsidiaries
Nokia Siemens Networks Navteq Symbian Vertu Qt Development Frameworks
Website
Nokia.com
Nokia Corporation (Finnish pronunciation: [nki]) (OMX: NOK1V, NYSE: NOK, FWB: NOA3) is a Finnish multinationalcommunications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki.[2] Nokia is engaged in the manufacturing of mobile devices and in converging Internet and communications industries, with over 132,000 employees in 120 countries, sales in more than 150 countries and global annual revenue of over 42 billion and operating profit of 2 billion as of 2010.[1] It is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones: its global device market share was 31% in the fourth quarter 2010, up from an estimated 30% in third quarter of 2010 but down from an estimated 35% in the fourth quarter of 2009. Nokia's estimated share of the converged mobile device market was 31% in the fourth quarter, compared with 38% in the third quarter 2010.[1] Nokia produces mobile devices for every majormarket segment and protocol, including GSM, CDMA, and W-CDMA (UMTS). Nokia offers Internet services such as applications, games, music, maps, media and messaging through its Ovi platform. Nokia's subsidiary Nokia Siemens Networks produces telecommunications network equipment, solutions and services.[3] Nokia is also engaged in providing free digital map information and navigation services through its wholly owned subsidiary Navteq.[4] Nokia also has greater dependency on England based company duo namely Symbian Corporation for its mobile operating systems and OVI for its mobile-based application software development and distribution, which has made Nokia as highest-selling mobile-phone vendor within the past few years. Nokia has sites for research and development, manufacture and sales in many countries throughout the world. As of December 2010, Nokia had R&D presence in 16 countries and employed 35,870 people in research and development, representing approximately 27% of the group's total workforce.[1] The Nokia Research Center, founded in 1986, is Nokia's industrial research unit consisting of about 500 researchers, engineers and scientists.[5][6] It has sites in seven countries: Finland, China, India, Kenya, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.[7] Besides its research centers, in 2001 Nokia founded (and owns) INdT Nokia Institute of Technology, a R&D institute located in Brazil.[8] Nokia operates a total of 9 manufacturing facilities[9] located
at Salo, Finland; Manaus, Brazil; Cluj, Romania; Beijing and Dongguan, China; Komrom, Hungary; Chennai, India; Reynosa, Mexico; and Masan, South Korea.[10][11] Nokia's industrial design department is headquartered in Soho in London, UK with significant satellite offices in Helsinki, Finland and Calabasas, California in the US. Nokia is a public limited-liability company listed on the Helsinki, Frankfurt, and New York stock exchanges.
[9]
Nokia plays a very large role in the economy of Finland; it is by far the largest Finnish company, accounting
for about a third of the market capitalization of the Helsinki Stock Exchange (OMX Helsinki) as of 2007, a unique situation for an industrialized country.[12] It is an important employer in Finland and several small companies have grown into large ones as its partners and subcontractors.[13] Nokia increased Finland's GDP by more than 1.5% in 1999 alone. In 2004 Nokia's share of the Finnish GDP was 3.5% and accounted for almost a quarter of Finland's exports in 2003.[14] Finns have consistently ranked Nokia as one of the best Finnish brands. In 2008, it was the 27th most respected brand among Finns, down from sixth place in 2007.[15] The Nokia brand, valued at $29.5 billion, is listed as the eight most valuable global brand in theInterbrand/BusinessWeek Best Global Brands list of 2010 (first non-US company).[16][17] It is the number one brand in Asia (as of 2007)[18]and Europe (as of 2009),[19] the 41st most admirable company worldwide in Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies list of 2010 (third in Network and Other Communications Equipment, seventh non-US company),[20] and the world's 120th largest company as measured by revenue in Fortune Global 500 list of 2010.[21] As of 2010, AMR Research ranks Nokia's global supply chain No. 19 in the world.[22] In July 2010, Nokia announced that their profits had dropped 40%.[23] In the global smartphone rivalry, Nokia dominates the worldwide mobile markets, but remains fragile in the United States.[24][25][26] On 11 February 2011, Nokia announced a partnership with Microsoft which will mean most future Nokia smart phones will be powered by theWindows Phone 7 operating system.
The Nokia House, Nokia's head office located by theGulf of Finland in Keilaniemi, Espoo, was constructed between 1995 and 1997. It is the workplace of more than 1,000 Nokia employees.[27]
The first Nokia mobile phone using the Microsoft Windows platform will be introduced in 2011, but delivery bulk will be initialised at 2012.[28]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
1.1 Pre-telecommunications era
1.1.1 Industrial conglomerate
1.2 Telecommunications era
1.2.1 Networking equipment 1.2.2 First mobile phones 1.2.3 Involvement in GSM 1.2.4 Personal computers and IT equipment
1.2.5 Challenges of growth
1.3 Recent history
1.3.1 Product releases 1.3.2 Plant movements 1.3.3 Reorganizations 1.3.4 Acquisitions
1.4 Curtailment
2 Alliance with Microsoft 3 Corporate affairs
3.1 Corporate structure
3.1.1 Divisions
3.1.1.1 Mobile Solutions
3.1.1.2 Mobile Phones 3.1.1.3 Markets
3.1.2 Subsidiaries
3.1.2.1 Nokia Siemens Networks
3.1.2.2 Navteq
3.1.3 Corporate governance
3.1.3.1 Former corporate officers
3.2 Logos 3.3 Stock 3.4 Corporate culture
4 Online services
4.1 .mobi and the Mobile Web 4.2 Ovi 4.3 My Nokia 4.4 Comes With Music 4.5 Nokia Messaging
5 Controversy
5.1 NSN's provision of intercept capability to Iran
5.2 Lex Nokia 5.3 NokiaApple patent dispute
6 Environmental record 7 Research cooperation with universities 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading
11 External links
[edit]History [edit]Pre-telecommunications
era
Fredrik Idestam, founder of Nokia.
Statesman Leo Mechelin, co-founder of Nokia.
The predecessors of the modern Nokia were the Nokia Company (Nokia Aktiebolag), Finnish Rubber Works Ltd (Suomen Gummitehdas Oy) and Finnish Cable Works Ltd (Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy).[29] Nokia's history starts in 1865 when mining engineer Fredrik Idestam established a groundwood pulp mill on the banks of the Tammerkoskirapids in the town of Tampere, in southwestern Finland, and started manufacturing paper.[30] In 1868, Idestam built a second mill near the town of Nokia, fifteen kilometres (nine miles) west of Tampere by the Nokianvirta river, which had better resources for hydropowerproduction.[31] In 1871, Idestam, with the help of his close friend statesman Leo Mechelin, renamed and transformed his firm into a share company, thereby founding the Nokia Company, the name it is still known by today.[31] Toward the end of the 19th century, Mechelin's wishes to expand into the electricity business were at first thwarted by Idestam's opposition. However, Idestam's retirement from the management of the company in 1896 allowed Mechelin to become the company's chairman (from 1898 until 1914) and sell most shareholders on his plans, thus realizing his vision.[31] In 1902, Nokia added electricity generation to its business activities.[30]
[edit]Industrial conglomerate
In 1898, Eduard Poln founded Finnish Rubber Works, manufacturer of galoshes and other rubber products, which later became Nokia's rubber business.[29] At the beginning of the 20th century, Finnish Rubber Works established its factories near the town of Nokia and they began using Nokia as its product brand.[32] In 1912, Arvid Wickstrm founded Finnish Cable Works, producer of telephone, telegraph and electrical cables and the foundation of Nokia's cable and electronics businesses.[29] At the end of the 1910s, shortly after World War I,
the Nokia Company was nearing bankruptcy.[33] To ensure the continuation of electricity supply from Nokia's generators, Finnish Rubber Works acquired the business of the insolvent company.[33] In 1922, Finnish Rubber Works acquired Finnish Cable Works.[34] In 1937, Verner Weckman, a sport wrestler and Finland's first Olympic Gold medalist, became President of Finnish Cable Works, after 16 years as its Technical Director.
[35]
After World War II, Finnish Cable Works supplied cables to the Soviet Union as part of Finland's war
reparations. This gave the company a good foothold for later trade.[35] The three companies, which had been jointly owned since 1922, were merged to form a new industrial conglomerate, Nokia Corporation in 1967 and paved the way for Nokia's future as a global corporation.[36] The new company was involved in many industries, producing at one time or another paper products, car and bicycle tires, footwear (including rubber boots), communications cables, televisions and other consumer electronics, personal computers, electricity generation machinery, robotics, capacitors, military communications and equipment(such as the SANLA M/90 device and the M61 gas mask for the Finnish Army), plastics, aluminium and chemicals.[27] Each business unit had its own director who reported to the first Nokia Corporation President, Bjrn Westerlund. As the president of the Finnish Cable Works, he had been responsible for setting up the companys first electronics department in 1960, sowing the seeds of Nokias future in telecommunications.[37] Eventually, the company decided to leave consumer electronics behind in the 1990s and focused solely on the fastest growing segments in telecommunications.[38] Nokian Tyres, manufacturer of tires, split from Nokia Corporation to form its own company in 1988[39] and two years later Nokian Footwear, manufacturer of rubber boots, was founded.[32] During the rest of the 1990s, Nokia divested itself of all of its non-telecommunications businesses.[38]
[edit]Telecommunications
era
The seeds of the current incarnation of Nokia were planted with the founding of the electronics section of the cable division in 1960 and the production of its first electronic device in 1962: a pulse analyzer designed for use in nuclear power plants.[37] In the 1967 fusion, that section was separated into its own division, and began manufacturing telecommunications equipment. A key CEO and subsequent Chairman of the Board was vuorineuvos Bjrn "Nalle" Westerlund (19122009), who founded the electronics department and let it run a loss for 15 years.
ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal, S.A.
Type
Socit Anonyme
Traded as
Euronext: MT, NYSE: MT,BMAD: MTS, LuxSE: M T
Industry
Steel
Founded
2006
Headquart ers
Avenue de la Libert,Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Lakshmi Mittal (Chairman andCEO), Aditya Mittal (CFO) Steel, flat steel products, long steel products, wire products, plates
US $78.03 billion (2010)[1]
Products
Revenue
Operating income
US $3.605 billion (2010)[1]
Profit
US $2.916 billion (2010)[1]
Total assets
US $130.9 billion (2010)[1]
Total equity
US $66.10 billion (2010)[1]
Employees 263,000 (end 2010)[1]
Website
www.arcelormittal.com
ArcelorMittal S.A. is a global steel company headquartered in Avenue de la Libert, Luxembourg, Luxembourg. It is the largest steel producing company in the world[2] and is the market leader in steel for use in automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging. It holds sizeable captive supplies of raw materials and operates extensive distribution networks. The company was formed in 2006 by themerger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel. It ranks 99th on the 2010 Fortune Global 500 list.
Contents
[hide]
1 History 2 Organizational structure 3 Head office 4 See also 5 References 6 External links
History
Wikinews has related news:Arcelor declares merger with Mittal Steel.
Its industrial presence in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and South America gives the Group exposure to all the key steel markets, from emerging to mature. ArcelorMittal is looking to develop positions in the high-growth Indian and Chinese markets.
ArcelorMittal key financials for 2007 show revenues of US$105.2 billion, with a crude steel production of 116 million tonnes, representing around 10% of the world steel output. ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Luxembourg and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia.[3] As of 4 November 2008, the market capitalisation of ArcelorMittal was $35.37B.[4] In December 2008, ArcelorMittal announced several plant closings, including the former Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawanna, NY and LTV Steel in Hennepin, IL. On 30 June 2010, the European Commission fined 17 steel producers a total of 518M for running a price-fixing cartel, with ArcelorMittal being hit the hardest. On 26 January 2011, the Stainless steel division split off as a new company, Aperam.
Organizational structure
Lakshmi Mittal (owner of Mittal Steel), is the Chairman and CEO and owns 40% the shares and voting shares in the company. The composition of ArcelorMittal's Group Management Board is as follows: Lakshmi N. Mittal (Chairman and CEO), Aditya Mittal (CFO), Michel Wurth, Gonzalo Urquijo, Sudhir Maheshwari, Christophe Cornier, Davinder Chugh and Peter Kukielski. ArcelorMittal's 11-member Board of Directors is responsible for the overall supervision of the company. The composition of the Board of Directors reflects the principles agreed in the memorandum of understanding dated 25 June 2006.
Head office
Headquarters inLuxembourg City
Headquarters in Luxembourg City
Headquarters in Luxembourg City

The head office of ArcelorMittal is in Luxembourg City, and 600 employees work there. The building was the head office of Arbed before that company merged with Aceralia and Usinor.[5]
Tata Steel
Tata Steel
Type
Public (BSE: 500470)
Industry
Steel
Founded
1907
Founder(s)
Dorabji Tata
Headquarte Mumbai, Maharashtra, India[1] rs
Area served Worldwide
Key people
Ratan Tata (Chairman) B Muthuraman (Vice
Chairman) HM Nerurkar(MD)
Products Hot and cold rolled coils and sheets Wire and rods Construction bars Pipes Structurals and forging quality steel
Revenue
$22.741 billion (2010)[2]
Profit
$-423.5 million (2010)[3]
Total assets
$24.446 billion (2010)[3]
Total equity
$5.082 billion (2010)[3]
Employees
34,101 (2010)[4]
Parent
Tata Group
Subsidiarie s
Tata Steel Europe
Website
TataSteel.com
Tata Steel (BSE: 500470), formerly known as TISCO and Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited, is the world's seventh largest steel company,[5] with an annual crude steel capacity of 31 million tonnes. It is the largest private sector steel company in India in terms of domestic production. Currently ranked 410th on Fortune Global 500, it is based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India.[6][7] It is part of Tata Groupof companies. Tata Steel is also India's second-largest and second-most profitable company in private sector with consolidated revenues of 132,110 crore (US$29.46 billion) and net profit of over 12,350 crore (US$2.75 billion) during the year ended March 31, 2008.[8][9] Tata Steel is the 8th most valuable brand according to an annual survey conducted by Brand Finance and The Economic Times in 2010. [10]
Its main plant is located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, with its recent acquisitions, the company has become a multinational with operations in various countries. The Jamshedpur plant contains the DCS supplied by Honeywell.The registered office of Tata Steel is in Mumbai. The company was also recognized as the world's best steel producer by World Steel Dynamics in 2005.[11] The company is listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India, and employs about 82,700 people (as of 2007).[4]
Contents
[hide]
1 Capacity Expansion
1.1 Acquisitions 1.2 Corus
1.2.1 Other acquisitions
2 Controversies
2.1 Dhamra Port
3 References
[edit]Capacity
Expansion
Tata Steel has set an ambitious target to achieve a capacity of 100 million tonne by 2015. Managing Director B. Muthuraman stated that of the 100 million tonne, Tata Steel is planning a 50-50 balance between greenfield facilities and acquisitions.[12][13]
Overseas acquisitions have already added up to 21.4 million tonne, which includes Corus production at 18.2 million tonne, Natsteel production at two million tonne and Millennium Steel production at 1.2 million tonne. Tata is looking to add another 29 million tonnes through the acquisition route.[12][13]
Tata Steel has lined up a series of greenfield projects in India and outside which includes [12] 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 6 million tonne plant in Orissa (India) 6.8 million tonne in Jharkhand (India)(2.9 million tonne will be added by dec, 2011) 5 million tonne in Chhattisgarh (India) 3-million tonne plant in Iran 2.4-million tonne plant in Bangladesh 5 million tonne capacity expansion at Jamshedpur (India) 4.5 million tonne plant in Vietnam (feasibility studies underway)
[edit]Acquisitions [edit]Corus
Main article: Tata Corus acquisition
On 20 October 2006, TISCO signed a deal with Anglo-Dutch company, Corus On 19 November 2006, the Brazilian steel company Companhia Siderrgica Nacional (CSN) launched a counter offer for Corus at 475 pence per share, valuing it at 4.5billion.
On 11 December 2006, Tata preemptively upped the offer to 500 pence, which was within hours trumped by CSN's offer of 515 pence per share, valuing the deal at 4.9 billion. The Corus board promptly recommended both the revised offers to its shareholders.
Wikinews has related news:Steel Industry: Tata buys Corus
On 31 January 2007 Tata Steel won their bid for Corus after offering 608 pence per share, valuing Corus at 6.7 billion.
[edit]Other acquisitions
In August 2004, Tata Steel entered into definitive agreements with Singapore based NatSteel Ltd to acquire its steel business for Singapore $486.4 million (approximately Rs 1,313 crore) in an all cash transaction.[14]
In 2005, Tata Steel acquired 40% Stake in Millennium Steel in Thailand for $130 million (approx. Rs 600 crore).[15]
In 2007 Tata Steel through its wholly owned Singapore subsidiary, NatSteel Asia Pte Ltd acquired controlling stake in two rolling mills: SSE Steel Ltd, Vinausteel Ltd located in Vietnam.[16]
[edit]Controversies
The company is facing increasing criticism that the drive for growth and profits is completely overshadowing its once famed philanthropy, and causing lasting social and environmental damage at various locations.[17] In response, Tata cites its programs for environment and resource conservation, including reduction in greenhouse emission, raw materials and water consumption. The company has increased waste re-use and recycling, and reclaims land at its captive mines and collieries through forestation. Tata Steel's chief, environment and occupational health, says, "Our capital investment in pollution-abatement solutions was in the vicinity of Rs 400 crore in 2003-04."[18]
[edit]Dhamra
Port
The Dhamra Port, a Joint Venture between Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel, has come in for criticism from groups such as Greenpeace, Wildlife Protection Society of India and the Orissa Traditional Fishworkers' Union. The port is being built within five kilometres of the Bhitarkanika National Park, a Ramsar wetland of international importance, home to an impressive diversity of mangrove species, saltwater crocodiles and an array of avian species. The port will also be approximately 15 km. from the turtle nesting of Gahirmatha Beach, and turtles are also found immediately adjoining the port site. Aside from potential impacts on nesting and feeding grounds of the turtles, the mudflats of the port site itself are breeding grounds forhorseshoe crabs as well as rare species of reptiles and amphibians. One such species, the amphibian Fejervarya cancrivora, is the first record for the Indian mainland.[19][20]
[edit]References
1. ^ "Contact Information of Tata Steel: the Leading Steel Manufacturer India". Tatasteel.com. Retrieved 201009-28.
2. ^ "The 20 largest companies in India - Rediff.com Business". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10. 3. ^ a b c "Fortune Global 500 2010 Rankings - Tata Steel". Money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 4. ^ a b "Tata Steel Annual Report 2008-09". Tatasteel.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 5. ^ "World Steel Association". Worldsteel.org. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 6. ^ "Company Profile". Tatasteel.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 7. ^ 27 Jun, 2008, 01.17AM IST,ET Bureau (2008-06-27). "Tata Steel plans pooling of raw materials- SteelInd'l Goods / Svs-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
8. ^ "Financial Results for the Year ended on 31st March, 2008". Tatasteel.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 9. ^ 27 Jun, 2008, 08.20AM IST, Krishna Kant,ET Bureau (2008-06-27). "Corus buy hauls Tata Steel next to
Reliance". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
10. ^ "India's top 10 brands". business.rediff.com. Retrieved 26 Oct 2010. 11. ^ "(WSD) is the world's leading steel information service. WSD". World Steel Dynamics. Retrieved 201007-16.
12. ^ a b c Tatas hungry for more[dead link] 13. ^ a b http://www.financialexpress.com/old/fe_full_story.php?content_id=162675 Unabated appetite for global
growth
14. ^ Tata Steel acquires NatSteel[dead link] 15. ^ "Tata Steel to buy Thai co for $130 m". Thehindubusinessline.com. 2005-12-16. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
16. ^ "Tata Steel arm buys plants in Vietnam". Thehindubusinessline.com. 2007-03-09. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 17. ^ "Tata's Environmental Record", International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (February 09, 2007)[dead link] 18. ^ Saloni Meghani, "A tale of two ideas", Tata Steel website[dead link] 19. ^ Publication - June 8, 2007 (2007-06-08). "Biodiversity assessment of Dhamra Port". Greenpeace.
Retrieved 2010-10-26.
20. ^ "The Dhamra Port website". Dhamraport.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26.

Companies portal
Steel Authority of India Limited

This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (February 2009)
Steel Authority of India Limited
Type
State-owned enterprise Public
Traded as
NSE: SAIL
LSE: SAUD
Industry
Steel
Founded
1954
Headquarters
New Delhi, India[1]
Key people
Chandra Shekhar Verma(Chairman)

$9.629 billion (2010)[2]
Revenue
Net income
1.520 billion (2010)[2]
Total assets
$15.655 billion (2010)
Employees
131,910 (2006)
Website
www.sail.co.in
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) (NSE: SAIL, LSE: SAUD is one of the largest stateowned steel makers in India. With a turnover of 48,681 crore (US$10.86 billion), the company is among the top five highest profit earning corporates of the country. It is a public sector undertaking which trades publicly in the market is largely owned by Government of India and acts like an operating company. Incorporated on January 24, 1973, SAIL has more than 131,910 employees. The company's current chairman is C.S Verma. With an annual production of 13.5 million metric tons, SAIL is the 16th largest steel producer in the world. Major plants owned by SAIL are located at Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela, Burnpur (near Asansol) and Salem. SAIL is a public sector company, owned and operated by the Government of India. According to a recent survey, SAIL is one of India's fastest growing Public Sector Units.Besides, it has R&D centre for Iron & Steel (RDCIS), Centre for Engineering and Technology (CET), Management Training Institute (MTI) and SAIL Safety Organization (SSO) located at Ranchi caital of Jharkhand.
Contents
[hide]
1 History

2 Vision
1.1 1959-1973 1.2 1973-present
3 Major Units
3.1 SAIL Integrated Steel Plants 3.2 Special Steel Plants 3.3 Subsidiaries
4 Central Units
4.1 NTPC SAIL Power Company Limited (NSPCL)
4.2 Bokaro Power Supply Company Pvt. Limited (BPSCL)
4.3 Mjunction Services Limited 4.4 SAIL-Bansal Service Center Ltd 4.5 Bhilai JP Cement Ltd 4.6 Bokaro JP Cement Ltd 4.7 SAIL&MOIL Ferro Alloys (Pvt.) Limited
4.8 S&T Mining Company Pvt. Ltd 4.9 International Coal Ventures Private Limited
5 Ownership and Management 6 The SAIL Network Map 7 Achievements 8 See also 9 References 10 External links
[edit]History [edit]1959-1973
SAIL traces its origin to the Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL) which was set up on January 19, 1954. HSL was initially designed to manage only one plant that was coming up at Rourkela. For Bhilai and Durgapur Steel Plants, the preliminary work was done by the Iron and Steel Ministry. From April 1957, the supervision and control of these two steel plants were also transferred to Hindustan Steel. The registered office was originally in New Delhi. It moved to Calcutta in July 1956, and ultimately to Ranchi in December 1959. A new steel company, Bokaro Steel Limited (Bokaro Steel Plant), was incorporated in January 1964 to construct and operate the steel plant at Bokaro. The 1 MT phases of Bhilai and Rourkela Steel Plants were completed by the end of December 1961. The 1 MT phase of Durgapur Steel Plant was completed in January 1962 after commissioning of the Wheel and Axle plant. The crude steel production of HSL went up from 1.58 MT (195960) to 1.6 MT. The second phase of Bhilai Steel Plant was completed in September 1967 after commissioning of the Wire Rod Mill. The last unit of the 1.8 MT phase of Rourkela - the Tandem Mill - was commissioned in February 1968, and the 1.6 MT stage of Durgapur Steel Plant was completed in August 1969 after commissioning of the Furnace in SMS. Thus, with the completion of the 2.5 MT stage at Bhilai, 1.8 MT at Rourkela and 1.6 MT at Durgapur, the total crude steel production capacity of HSL was raised to 3.7 MT in 1968-69 and subsequently to 4MT in 1972-73.
[edit]1973-present
The Ministry of Steel and Mines drafted a policy statement to evolve a new model for managing industry. The policy statement was presented to the Parliament on December 2, 1972. On this basis the concept of creating a holding company to manage inputs and outputs under one umbrella was mooted. This led to the formation of Steel Authority of India Ltd. The company, incorporated on January 24, 1973 with an authorized capital of Rs. 2000 crore, was made responsible for managing five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela and Burnpur, the Alloy Steel Plant and the Salem Steel Plant. In 1978 SAIL was restructured as an operating company. Since its inception, SAIL has been instrumental in laying a sound infrastructure for the industrial development of the country. Besides, it has immensely contributed to the development of technical and managerial expertise. It has triggered the secondary and tertiary waves of economic growth by continuously providing the inputs for the consuming industry. SAIL today is one of the largest industrial entities in India. Its strength has been the diversified range of quality steel products catering to the domestic, as well as the export markets and a large pool of technical and professional expertise.siva
[edit]Vision
To be a respected world class corporation and the leader in Indian steel business in quality, productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction. CREDO We build lasting relationships with customers based on trust and mutual benefit. We uphold highest ethical standards in conduct of our business. We create and nurture a culture that supports flexibility, learning and is proactive to change. We chart a challenging career for employees with opportunities for advancement and rewards. We value the opportunity and responsibility to make a meaningful difference in people's lives.
[edit]Major [edit]SAIL
Units
Integrated Steel Plants
1. Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) in Orissa set up with German collaboration (The first integrated steel plant
in the Public Sector in India, 1959)
2. Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh set up with Soviet collaboration (1959) 3. Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) at Durgapur, West Bengal set up with British collaboration (1965) 4. Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) in Jharkhand (1965) set up with Soviet collaboration (The Plant is hailed as
the countrys first Swadeshi steel plant, built with maximum indigenous content in terms of equipment, material and know-how)
5. IISCO Steel Plant (ISP) at Burnpur, West Bengal

[edit]Special
Steel Plants
1. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 2. Alloy Steels Plants (ASP), Durgapur, West Bengal 3. Salem Steel Plant (SSP), Tamil Nadu 4. Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited (VISL), at Bhadravathi, Karnataka
[edit]Subsidiaries
1. Maharashtra Elektro-smelt Limited (MEL) in Maharashtra

[edit]Central
1.
Units
Centre for Engineering and Technology
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Research and development centre for iron and steel Management Training Institute SAIL safety organization Raw materials division Central Marketing Organization
7. SAIL consultancy organization[3]

NSPCL==Joint Ventures==
[edit]NTPC
SAIL Power Company Limited (NSPCL)
A 50:50 joint venture between Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC Ltd.); manages the captive power plants at Rourkela, Durgapur and Bhilai with a combined capacity of 314 megawatts (MW). It has installed additional capacity by implementation of 500 MW (2 x 250 MW Units) power plant at Bhilai. The commercial generation of 1st Unit has commenced in April2009 and the 2nd Unit in October 2009
[edit]Bokaro
Power Supply Company Pvt. Limited (BPSCL)
This 50:50 joint venture between SAIL and the Damodar Valley Corporation formed in January 2002 is managing the 302-MW power generating station and 660 tonnes per hour steam generation facilities at Bokaro Steel Plant. BPSCL has proposed to expand its capacity by installing 2x250 MW coal based thermal unit at Bokaro. In addition, construction activities are underway for installation of 9th Boiler (300T/Hr) & 36 MW Back Pressure Turbo Generator (BPTG) project at Bokaro.
[edit]Mjunction
Services Limited
mjunction services limited operating at the cutting edge of Information Technology and the Internet, is a 50:50 venture promoted by SAIL and TATA Steel. Founded in February 2001, it is today not only India's largest eCommerce company (having eTransacted worth over Rs.65,000 crores till date) but also runs the world's largest eMarketplace for steel. The steel and coal supply chain in India has been transformed by mjunction, which has ushered in Efficiency, Transparency and Convenience to the way steel and coal, is bought and sold. Similar transformational change is being sought to be made in the automobile industry and in the sale of branded products with the launch of autojunction and straightline respectively. Business volume of the company in terms of Transaction Value has soared from Rs 94.35 crores in FY'02 to Rs 19,648 crores in FY'10, registering a spectacular CAGR of 95%. mjunction's growth has not only been in terms of transactional value, revenue and profits. In the space of just 9 years, it has established a national footprint with offices at 12 locations all over the country. Starting out with a
team of less than six people at inception, today more than 400 people from different professional and academic backgrounds are working on growing the company at a scorching pace. Today, mjunction offers a wide range of eSelling, eSourcing, eFinance and Knowledge services across diverse industry verticals that empower businesses with greater process efficiencies. mjunction has service offerings spanning the entire eCommerce spectrum and operates through - metaljunction.com, buyjunction.in, coaljunction.in, autojunction.in, straightline.in, financejunction.in , valuejunction.in, and mjunctionedge. mjunction is a ISO 9001:2000, ISO 27001 and CMMI Level 3 certified company.
[edit]SAIL-Bansal
Service Center Ltd
SAIL has formed a joint venture with BMW industries Ltd. on 40:60 basis to promote a service centre at Bokaro with the objective of adding value to steel.
[edit]Bhilai
JP Cement Ltd
SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd to set up a 2.2 MT slag based cement plant at Bhilai. The company shall commence cement production at Bhilai by March'2010, whereas clinker production at Satna shall start within 2009.
[edit]Bokaro
JP Cement Ltd
SAIL has incorporated another joint venture company with M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd to set up a 2.1 MT cement plant at Bokaro utilizing slag from BSL. The project implementation is under progress with commencement of cement production likely by July2011.
[edit]SAIL&MOIL
Ferro Alloys (Pvt.) Limited
SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with Manganese Ore (India) Ltd on 50:50 basis to produce ferro-manganese and silico-manganese required for production of steel..
[edit]S&T
Mining Company Pvt. Ltd
SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with TATA Steel for joint acquisition & development of coal blocks/mines. New indigenous opportunities for coking coal development are being explored by the Joint Venture company for securing coking coal supplies.
[edit]International
Coal Ventures Private Limited
Towards achieving the target of making steel PSUs self reliant in the area of coking coal, a joint venture company has been incorporated composed of five central PSU companies i.e. SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), Coal India Limited and other target countries.
[edit]Ownership
and Management
The Government of India owns about 86% of SAIL's equity and retains voting control of the Company. However, SAIL, by virtue of its Maharatna status, enjoys significant operational and financial autonomy
[edit]The
SAIL Network Map
Please refer the following The SAIL Network Map
[edit]Achievements
SAIL was featured in the 2008 list of Forbes Global 2000 companies at position 647.[4] National Institute of Personnel Management conferred the National Award on SAIL for Best
HR Practices 2008. SAIL was adjudged as the top Indian company under the Iron and Steel Sector for the Dun &
Bradstreet Rolta Corporate Awards 2008. Golden Peacock Award for Combating Climate Change 2008 for BSP, Occupational
Health and Safety 2008 for BSL.[
Lightly guarded India temple holds $22B treasures

By NIRMALA GEORGE - Associated Press | AP Mon, Jul 4, 2011
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NEW DELHI (AP) A vast treasure trove of gold coins, jewels and precious stones unearthed at a lightly guarded Hindu temple in India was expected to grow further in value Monday as the last two secret vaults sealed for nearly 150 years are opened. The government has increased security since the treasure's discovery in recent days, which has instantly turned the 16th-century Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple into one of the wealthiest religious institutions in the country.
Four vaults recently opened at the temple in Trivandrum, the capital of the southern state of Kerala, held a vast bounty that unofficial estimates peg at $22 billion. The treasures unearthed so far include statues of gods and goddesses made of solid gold and studded with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones, crowns and necklaces, all given as gifts to the temple over the centuries. The volume of gold and silver coins was so enormous that the investigators weighed the coins by the sackful, rather than counting them, officials said. The temple, built by the maharajas who ruled the then-kingdom of Travancore, remained under the control of the erstwhile royal family after India's independence in 1947. India's Supreme Court ordered the inspection of the vaults after a lawyer petitioned a local court asking the state government to take over the temple, citing inadequate security. The current Maharaja of Travancore had appealed to the Supreme Court against the petition. The inventory began last week and the final vaults were to be unlocked Monday afternoon. The public knew the temple had treasures but not the quantum. Before the trove was uncovered, there was almost no visible security at the temple, save for a few local security guards patrolling the complex with batons, mainly for crowd control. Kerala's police chief, Jacob Punnoose, said he sent extra police officers to guard the temple and is planning a high-tech security system to protect the treasure. "We plan to enhance security in a manner which will not interfere with the activities of the temple or devotees," Punnoose said. The security plans include the installation of digital electronic networks, closed circuit cameras and metal detectors at the entrance and exits of the temple. Manoj Abraham, city police commissioner, said two battalions of special armed police would provide security outside the temple complex. "Later, we will discuss with temple authorities and members of the former royal family what kind of permanent security system should be put in place," Abraham said.
Every year, devout Hindus donate millions of rupees worth of cash, gold and silver to temples. Some temples in India are so wealthy, they have formed trusts which run schools, colleges and hospitals that offer free treatment to the poor. The discovery has sparked a debate over the future of the treasure trove. Vellappally Nateshan, a Hindu leader, said the wealth should remain with the temple authorities. Some social activists in Kerala have demanded the treasure be handed to a national trust to help the poor. Kerala's top elected official, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, however, assured the people that the wealth would remain with the temple. "It is the property of the temple. The government will protect the wealth at the temple." Chandy said the government would bear the cost of stepping up security at the temple and ensure that worshippers were not inconvenienced.
The Manufacturing Practices of the Footwear Industry: Nike vs. the Competition Steven Van Dusen The current manufacturing practices of the sneaker industry, in particular companies such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Converse, and New Balance, takes place throughout the globe. With the industry experiencing severe competition, and the product requiring intensive labor, firms are facing extreme pressure to increase their profit margins through their sourcing practices. The following paper will analyze the sneaker industry, while examining the multitude of viable manufacturing options, and critiquing their current manufacturing structure. Footwear Industry Players, Revenues, Market Share To properly review the manufacturing in the footwear industry, it is necessary to first gain an understanding of the dominant leaders in the marketplace. The industry is currently experiencing hypercompetition, led by six main firms Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Fila, Converse, and New Balance (see exhibit 1), with nearly $7 billion in revenues domestically. Nike is the industry leader, with a 47% market share, followed by Reebok, a distant second at 16%, and Adidas at 6% (see exhibit 2). This category is facing decreasing demand and the
rising popularity of alternative footwear, resulting in more pressure than ever before to achieve high gross margins through effective global sourcing practices. Manufacturing options Footwear companies have two basic options in the manufacturing of their products, they can both own and operate the factories that produce their products, or subcontract their products out to secondary manufacturers. These facilities can be located either domestically or internationally, and both present a myriad of positives and negatives. Firms that produce domestically benefit from ease of monitoring, skilled workforce, government stability, job creation, and well understood labor rules, while suffering from the relatively high wages required in the U.S. as compared to developing countries. By manufacturing products overseas, in particular in third world economies, tremendous efficiencies are gained in the form of reduced wages, but are countered by the increased difficulty of monitoring the quality of their products and the actual working conditions in the factories. Companies that are vertically integrated, who own and operate the factories where their products are manufactured, are faced with large capital expenditure requirements and the management of the factories themselves, resulting in lower profit margins. Strategic Outsourcing In analyzing the sneaker industry, we are faced with the question, "What are these firms core competencies?" If manufacturing falls under this umbrella, then firms should look to produce internally. However, the core skills that set these companies apart from the competition, are their marketing, distribution, and technological expertise. Applying the dominant sneaker companies areas of expertise, lets review the following questions: Is internalization a source of competitive advantage? Is manufacturing a skill our firm does better than anybody else? Will firms be able to leverage their manufacturing expertise in the future? Are we releasing any of the firms proprietary skills/information by outsourcing? With all of the above questions posed to any of the big four sneaker companies, they would respond with a resounding "no". Therefore, in todays global environment, the most strategically viable manufacturing strategy is the outsourcing of their products. The efficiencies that are gained, in the form of shifting of risk, reduced capital requirements, lower wages, and ability to focus on their core competencies, strongly outweigh all other manufacturing options.
The Evolution of Manufacturing in Third World Countries As the economies of countries around world expand, so does their ability and skill level in all facets of manufacturing. Beginning in London in the early 1900s, and followed through to the present day, manufacturing in its simplest form consists of light manufacturing, which uses unskilled labor to produce items such as shirts, shorts, and jeans. As the economy develops along with the skill of manufacturing, countries begin moderately technical light manufacturing, which includes footwear, outerwear and, performance sportswear. The next step in this growth involves the production of technical consumer products such as radios, calculators, and wristwatches. With the most developed economies gaining high levels of technical expertise, manufacturing grows to include technical durables, which includes automobiles and computers. This progression represents the advancement of economies throughout the world today, and provides the reasoning behind sneaker companies manufacturing beginning in the United States and Germany, and passing through Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, to its present day central areas of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. As these three countries progress over the next decade, and large amounts of new capital is pumped into their economies, their standard of living will rise along with their manufacturing expertise. Companies will be forced to relocate their manufacturing in countries such as Cambodia, Pakistan, and underdeveloped regions of Africa in search of lower wages. Nike Nike currently enjoys a 47% market share of the domestic footwear industry, with sales of $3.77 billion. Nike has been manufacturing throughout the Asian region for over twenty-five years, and there are over 500,000 people today directly engaged in the production of their products. They utilize an outsourcing strategy, using only subcontractors throughout the globe. Their majority of their output today is produced in factories in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, but they also have factories in Italy, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea. These factories are 100% owned by subcontractors, with the majority of their output consisting solely of Nike products. However, Nike does employ teams of four expatriates per each of the big three countries (China, Indonesia, Vietnam), that focus on both quality of product and quality of working conditions, visiting the factories weekly. They also developed their code of conduct in 1992 and have implemented it across the globe, as its goal is to set the standard for subcontractors to follow if they wish to do business with Nike. However, due to a manufacturing network of this magnitude, they have faced numerous violations involving factory conditions and human rights issues, which have been widely publicized. They have responded to these issues through the Andrew Young report, the Dartmouth Study, and Ernst &
Youngs continual monitoring, but are still approximately two years away from completely addressing these problems throughout the globe. Reebok Reebok, as the second leading manufacturer of footwear, has domestic revenues of $1.28 billion and a market share of 16%. Similar to Nike, they also utilize a 100% outsourcing strategy and manufacture their products throughout Asia. They have created and implemented their own code of conduct for manufactures to follow, but have less infrastructure than Nike across the globe to enforce it. They are facing scrutiny in regards to wage, overtime, and air quality issues, and like Nike, are working to address these issues. However, their strength, the creation and distribution of a global brand, is allowed to foster under this manufacturing strategy, as they focus on their core competencies, and outsource their production. Adidas Adidas is currently enjoying the fastest growth of any brand domestically, with a market share of 6% and revenue of $500 million. They have been shielded from bad publicity by the two Goliaths of the industry, Nike and Reebok, and are reaping the rewards substantially. They have adjusted their manufacturing strategy, from a vertical operation in Germany in the 60s and 70s, to an outsourcing focus today throughout Asia. Unlike the big two, they do not have a code of conduct, and their factories are considered to be the worst in the industry. It is just a matter of time before they are exposed, with an underground swelling of negativity already occurring today. In order to avoid the negative effects and lost revenues that Nike and Reebok have received, they need to immediately begin to take a proactive stance in regards to the working conditions of their factories. Converse With a market share of 3% and revenues of $280 million, Converse manufactures their products both domestically and internationally. It is important to note that the only product they continue to manufacture in the U.S. today, is the Chuck Taylor All Star, with plants in Lumberton, NC and Mission, TX. This is a product where the "Made in the USA" label is crucial to its success, and internalization is a source of competitive advantage. These two factors serving as the sole reason why the production remains within the U.S. All other shoe models are outsourced in Asia, with the explanation of reduced wages driving this strategy. Converse, like Adidas, must also generate a higher degree of internal monitoring of their subcontractors, or they will soon face increased scrutiny New Balance
New Balance is the one company that has kept a substantial amount of manufacturing in the United States, and has a 3% market share with sales of $260 million. They currently operate five plants in New England, employing over 1400 workers, that produces 50% of their output. With this mixed strategy, of vertical integration and outsourcing, they are very unique, with their strategic reasoning based on the advantages gained through higher levels of quality domestically, and the "Made in the USA" label. They are in a highly specialized, niche business, running shoes, and closeness of factories is more essential to their customer base than the other companies because of special orders. For their most technical products they employ outsourcing, following the strategy of their competitors. Although there is something to be said for manufacturing domestically, they are straying away from the skills that they do better than anybody else the design and marketing of the premier running shoe in the industry. Their long-term strategy should shift to a 100% outsourcing model, allowing them to control this niche for the future. Summary Manufacturing in the footwear industry has evolved dramatically over the course of the last century. As economies grow and skills are enhanced, production has been forced to spread to less developed regions around the world. While Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Converse, and New Balance each have their own manufacturing structure, the reason behind their rise to dominance in this industry is their ability to focus on the core skills that they perform better than anybody else. The outsourcing trend that dominates the industry today will only increase in the future. The major issues facing these firms today, working conditions and human rights, must be addressed in the short-term. Through either one firms leadership, or all footwear companies strategically aligning, these issues will be addressed; the question is "Just how long will it take before the footwear companies say Just Do It?"
What lies ahead for the banking sector?
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Stocks Commodities Loans

Mail Today, On Monday 27 June 2011, 1:14 PM
The banking sector has been on a roll over the last couple of years, throwing up huge opportunities for wealth creation on the way. Consider this: if had you invested Rs 1 lakh in the banking index in May 2007, your money would have grown to Rs 1.9 lakh today, a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent compared to Rs 1.3 lakh which you would have got had you invested in the Nifty index i.e. a CAGR of 7 per cent. During the same period, stocks like HDFC Bank and State Bank of India would have grown your wealth by 24 per cent and 21 per cent on a compounded basis, respectively. As the Indian economy does well with over eight per cent growth in recent times, banks tend to be one of the biggest beneficiaries due to the demand for credit and the fact that market conditions are suitable for growing the loan book. In fact, post the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, the banking index delivered a return of 82 per cent during May 2009 until October 2010, compared to a return of 40 per cent delivered by the broader market. "In 2009-2010 banking was the safest bet at a time when everyone had concerns on the market, especially on sectors like telecom due to the competitive intensity or power and real estate due to the infrastructure bottlenecks or oil and gas, which was underperforming," says Ajay Parmar, head, institutional research, Emkay Global Financial Services. This is also due to the strong credit quality of Indian banks, which made them resilient during the global crisis. During this period i.e. May 2009 until October 2010, the returns delivered by the PSU bank index were much stronger at 110 per cent. This can be attributed to the flight to safety away from other assets into PSU bank deposits along with healthy credit growth. Further, PSU banks have a large amount of holding in longer maturity government securities and bonds which did well since the yield on the 10-year benchmark came down from 9.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent in March 2009, indicating a rise in the price of the bonds, leading to a higher mark-to-market profit on their investment portfolio. BUMPY ROAD AHEAD
However, of late, banking stocks have been beaten down due to reduced credit offtake, pressure on yields etc. which is flowing into valuations causing downgrades in this sector. Since November 2010, these stocks have delivered a negative return of 19 per cent compared to -13 per cent of the Nifty. The PSU Bank index has performed even worse with a negative return of 29 per cent. With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raising its key policy rates by 250 basis points (a basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point) since March 2010, there has been an overall increase in the lending and deposit rates in the system. Although a bank can generate revenue in a variety of ways including transaction fees and financial advice, the main income is through charging interest onthe money it lends. It mainly profits from the difference between the average interest it pays for deposits and what it charges on loans, also known as the net interest margin (NIM). As interest rates rise, credit growth tends to slows down due to higher borrowing costs. In fact, since the beginning of the year credit growth has moderated from 23.3 per cent in January 2011 to 21.9 per cent as of April 2011 and deposit growth has inched up from 16 per cent in January 2011 to 17.90 per cent as of April 2011. Despite this, select private sector banks are not doing badly. "Although the results declared by banks have been a mixed bag so far. There are pressures on margins for several banks, credit growth has remained strong," says Dipen Shah, senior vice president, Kotak Securities. ICICI Bank, for instance, posted a strong loan growth at 19.4 per cent YoY and 4.7 per cent QoQ, while margins improved from 2.6 per cent to 2.7 per cent partly due to premature breaking of FDs, says Shah. "Banks like HDFC Bank and Axis Bank have been able to grow profits despite the high interest rate scenario," says Rajeev Thakkar, chief executive officer, Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services (PPFAS). Axis Bank, for instance, posted a strong loan growth of 36 per cent YoY, way ahead of its peers and maintains a guidance of 25 per cent growth going forward. At the same time its deposits grew at 33 per cent but the NIMs contracted by about 70 basis points. Thakkar maintains a buy on Axis Bank at the current price with a 3 year perspective. He also recommends HDFC Bank although he would wait for a lower price before investing.
However, the biggest disappointment has stemmed from the public sector behemoth SBI Bank which declared a 99 per cent drop in profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 due to provisioning (an expense set aside as an allowance for bad loans) on teaser loans, providing for pension and gratuity shortfall and higher nonperforming assets (NPAs) has shaken the markets. "The bank's Q4 net interest margin fell to 3.07 per cent v/s 3.61 per cent in the previous quarter and the bank's pension liability provision was much higher which likely reduced book value by about `125 per share," says Shah of Kotak. This could be a precursor for similar things happening in other banks, especially PSU banks, which are saddled with the same issues. According to Parmar of Emkay Securities, banks have been cautious about their growth and the primary area of focus is to maintain NIM and quality of assets. As per their recently conducted banking conference, most banks have toned down their growth assumption for 2011-12 to 20 per cent in loan books compared to 25-27 per cent earlier. "Although spreads of banks have been quite stable since the last three quarters, this is unlikely to continue, which will affect their profit growth," says Anand Shanbhag, executive director and head of research, Avendus Securities. In 2010 and early 2011, banks benefited largely from the lag in re-pricing of deposits, which resulted in the NIM expansion i.e. faster rise in lending rates compared to deposit rates. A majority of loans that banks offer effectively carry floating rates so when rates are rising, these are repriced almost immediately. On the other hand, the average cost of deposits does not change that rapidly since deposits are typically fixed until they are up for maturity. "The cost of deposits for PSBs like Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda, for instance, have gone up by 20 basis points whereas the yield on loans has increased by 41 basis points," says Shanbhag. "Increases in deposit rates have been announced in early 2011, which over the next two quarters will become applicable on deposits that mature and this will begin to cast an effect on profitablity," adds Shanbhag. Parmar agrees, "The lagged re-pricing of deposits and requirement of funds could put pressures of 20-30 bps in NIM in 2011-12". According to Thakkar, inflation and interest rates are likely to remain elevated for some time because of easy monetary and fiscal policies in developed countries, which is increasing capital flows to emerging markets, fuelling asset prices on the way. Also, supply side constraints and disruptions in commodities like oil are also contributing to the inflationary scenario. The consensus is that rates in India could go up by another 50 basis points this year before cooling off.
PSBs SCORE LOW In its annual monetary policy, the RBI increased the provisioning on substandard assets from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, doubtful loans from 20 per cent to 25 per cent and asked banks to provide two per cent on restructured loans. In this context, PSBs are negatively placed considering restructured loans form almost five per cent of their total loans while private sector banks are better placed at less than one per cent considering they have been providing conservatively. According to a report by Espirito Santo Securities, restructured loans were as high as 6.5 per cent for Punjab National Bank and 4.5 per cent for SBI compared to 0.16 per cent for Indusind Bank and less than 0.3 per cent for Yes Bank and HDFC Bank. Although asset qualities of banks do not seem to be under pressure yet, most PSBs could take a hit ranging from one to two per cent of their 2011-12 PAT for additional provisioning requirement.< SBI and PNB may see an impact on their profits to the extent of four to five per cent considering their higher restructured loan portfolio. According to Shah of Kotak Securities, private sector banks are better placed than PSBs as their growth rates are expected to be higher because of their focus and they provide better comfort on asset quality. RBI has also increased the savings bank deposit rate by 50 basis points, which according to Espirito will increase the cost of deposits for large PSBs and private sector banks by 10-15 basis points and a lower one basis points to five basis points impact on deposit costs of new age private banks like Yes Bank and Indusind Bank, due to their relatively low proportion of current account-savings account (CASA) deposits (<10 per cent). WATCH ON UNDER PERFORMERS Parmar recommends selling stocks like Canara Bank due to its low CASA and rising NPA issues. He expects SBI and Union Bank to underperform considering the changing environment for these stocks. Shanbhag advises investors to refrain from investing into this sector as of now. Having said that, their underperformance over the short term is likely to continue considering NIMs for FY12 could face stress if the pace of lending rate hikes were to slow down and the debt-servicing ability
of small corporates could wane. For the long term Shanbhag likes stocks like PNB due to its high return on equity (ROE) and Bank of Baroda due to its relatively low NPL ratios and higher RoE compared to peers.
Are Indians still the imitators, not the innovators?

By SiliconIndia, Monday, 20 June 2011, 20:02 IST Bangalore: Are we still copying the West? Aren't we grown up to be called as innovatorsrather than imitators? This remains to be a hot topic of discussion as many feel that innovations in India are not a very rare activity rather they often go unrecognized while others argue that the habit of imitating the West still haunts India and this will block the Indian minds to venture into real innovative activities.
India is fast growing to a phase where it's already termed as a global innovator for high-tech products and services; however, the innovative potential of the country is largely relatively underperformed. According to the marketing advisory firm Zennov, there has been an 11 percent increase in creating Intellectual Property in India. Indian researchers and companies have been filing 36,000 patents annually. However, the study reveals that India is trailing behind China files around 4,00,000 annual patents which is a clear sign that our immediate neighbor is far ahead of us in innovations despite the
fact that large number of patent holders and applicants globally are Indians. It's an indisputable fact that India's rapid economic growth is giving a great boost to its efforts to create its own innovations and not just relying on imitation. The notion that Indians are imitating than innovating is quite an outdated view and the fact is that the country is updating its technologies quite fast which will undoubtedly boost innovation. Although China and the West seems to be much ahead of India in terms of technological innovations, India stands tall in frugal-innovations - in ultra low-cost products and services for the poor. The rush of Western MNCs like Google, Microsoft GE, and Cisco, to India will definitely enhance innovation further as they increase their R&D spending to stay in forefront in this huge emerging market. The country should look ahead to benefit from the increasing competition by producing stronger skills, better infrastructure to unleash innovation. More early stage funding will enable the bright minds to materialize their innovative ideas. Lastly, but most importantly the diaspora needs to be tapped more effectively. Inclusive innovation should be the ideal goal where R&D efforts for poor should be scaled up and the ability of informal enterprises to be improved further to exploit existing knowledge, which would be backed by realistic and time bound implementation plan.
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Reader's comments (38)

1: i agree with all the above mentioned points...the main thing is if u have knowledge you dont have
money if u have money u dont have knowledge..indian brain is innovative but to bring out those innovation we dont have money..for exapmle take me i my self did a project and sent the paper in an international conference which is going to be held in singapore and it got selected if i could attend the program i can get a patent but i dont have money to register and attend the conference even i asked sponsor to my college they didnt give even a penny so i would see money matters a lot in innovation...if any one could help me mail me @ harishmenon_31@yahoo.com it is a genuine request...i have my passion towards innivation... Posted by: harish - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
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2: IPR OFFICES ARE TO BE OPENED AT ALL THE STATE HQS.

DURATION OF SANCTIONING PATENTS HAS TO BE MINIMIZED. STATE AND CENTRAL GOVTS. HAVE TO OFFER FREE CONSULTANCY FOR PATENT REGISTRATION. Posted by: PROF. DR. V. GANESAN, PH. D., - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
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3: With post GFC ,,crisis in Middle east and bailouts in Europe ,,only China ,,India and Australia
remain on the growth path ,,so the worlds attention is on India more these days ,,it is true that we have lots of problems and challenges ,,but the world is not kind ,,especially the media ,,from time to time you see topics like Is Gandhi homsexual are Indian women abused and also like the above Are Indians Imitators ,,Iam more worried about Indian Media becoming imitators or some elements doing more harm to India rather than any good Guys ,,Sri Pranab Mukherji ,,has said ,,his minsitry had uncovered 14 traps in various parts of the building Indias threats with porous borders ,,within India ,,shady characters controlling Mumbai still lurk ,,and pose dangers I hope our political parties realise this ,,and play politics accordingly ,,and concentrate on issues based on merit ,,our enemies are waiting for a chance to divide or exploit to their advantage ,,we should tread the path very carefully I also urge all Indian corporate Groups like Tatas ,,Mahindra ,,Wipro etc to be very vigilant and careful especially when outside of India ,,also now a days corporate spying is on rise and sections of media elements do not recognise or they recognise and publish sensitive information which puts stress on both employess and HR Dept so be very careful and chart out contingency plans Also Bharathi Grp ,,should tread carefully in Africa ,,engage with community work and engage local workforce Posted by: rama anne - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
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4:Govt Of India also should work out the worst case scenario and chart out plans to sustain growth
Govt of India at centre ,,should work with all states with out politics ,,like Gujarat and Bihar ,,especially Bihar needs assistance and Planning Commission should provide funds or facilitate the process Sri Nitish Kumarji ,,secure Agriculture and I have read the news ,,you are on right path ,,fertilisers ,,seeds etc keep going Hon Sri Nitish Kumarji ,,please take a weekend off ,,take special appointment with Sri Pramod Chaudhary of Praj Industries at PUNE ,,leave on early Saturday morning flight and tour all the facilities they have ,,like inhouse R and D ,,understand their operations ,,they cover Bio Fuels ,,process industrial structures in waste water plants etc,, see how to leverage their Tech and apply it in Bihar ,,also Aqua Farming ,,that is Fish and Prawns cultivation in clear water Lakes and Pond in Ganaga basin and then use Air Infrastrture in Supply Chain to load stock from Patna and ship to Mumbai ,,NCR region and Bangalore etc ,,these steps will secure growth path for Bihar and sustain ,,then we can get some other sectors like IT set up in Patna as well rama anne replied to: rama anne post - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
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5: Dear Indian Readers

We are independent for last 66 yrs I divide 3 periods of 22 yrs each 1.First 22 yrs after we gained Independence in 1947 ,,we have to layout our institutions ,,IIts ,,BHEL ,,ISRO etc 2.Next 22 yrs ,,we needed to concentrate on them and build them with good engineers
3.In the third phase of 22 yrs ,,by that time we are ready Iam talking from 1980s onwards ,,we had low growth ,,License raj etc ,,which were phased out and then we looked out ,,the world was already Globalised Remember Europe - UK,,Germany lead the Industrail revolution all pre and post word war 1 and 2 Then USA ,,with its Stanfords ,,Harvards etc and Ford ,,IBM,,NASA etc ,,attracted best people from all over the world ,,and it had its share of Industrial revolution with Boeing ,,Ford ,,Nasa ,,Pfizer etc
5.By the time India is ready ,,we have to plug into the world Global Supply Chain ,,and I must admit that we did very well 6.We should thank sri Narayana Murthy ,,TCs ,,Sri Azim Premji ,,sri Shiv Nadar etc for all their efforts ,,I have no doubt they are the best in their times ,,their careful attitude ,,prudent management ,,ethics etc have made Indian IT sector take shape ,,inspite of crippling Infra and Corruption all around That is why the Youth should understand our history ,,our strengths and weakness ,,we should always introspect and analyse our weakness ,,nothing wrong ,,but we must overcome them with Good team work Being in Australia ,, I have met all people from across the world and know what is happening around I also understand the world very well now ,,I have to admit our Forefathers like Gandhi and Pandit Nehru are the best leaders in the world Our Sri NarayanaMurthy ,,sri Azim Premiji ,,sri Shiv Nadar are also the best in the world in management no doubt about that We all Indians should always know our weakness and convert them to strength ,,Today ,,especially the Youth should note that India does offer R and D and goood design opportunities Compared to our times Iam 40 plus yrs old ,,and my fathers time ,,Todays India has more opportunities 1.There are opportunities in real estate ,,for Example If you are good in Civil engg and graduated ,,you can do apprenticeship with Hafeez Contractor and DLF group 2ISRO after 40 years of Hardwork ,,see the picture on ISRO website ,,we took first Rocket on a
Bullock Cart and bicycle ,,that is how we started ,,but llok today where we are ,,we have already reached Moon ,,I urge all young grad engineers to consider a career at ISRO ,,there are many good programms lined up for future
3.Reliance Group will expand with Offshore drilling ,,and they have started Marine Engg Uni in Gujarat ,,so our young can explore those opportunities
4.Similarly DRDO ,,and Mahindra Grp Aviation sector will open up ,,so get ready ,,learn the concepts and apply them ,,work on your Physics and Engg ,,do not worry starting salary ,,but concentrate on quality of work So yes there are bright spots in future ,,spot them ,,get mentored ,,and explore them all the best Posted by: rama anne - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
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6:All Indians who have ideas ,,can explore TIE indus entrepreneurs Chapter at Bangalore or Venture
Funds like Catraman ,,Pitch your ideas and get the feed back ,,even if not seleceted do not get discouraged ,,and keep thinking rama anne replied to: rama anne post - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
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7: we always imitate our neighbors, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and even our enemies Russians and
Chinese chinks Posted by: Shing Shang Shung - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
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8:this is website for Indian readers ,,not others ,,plz leave the web site
rama anne replied to: Shing Shang Shung post - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
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9: @rama anne, respect his views not his geography. Do you know where he or she is from? And
would it matter? Shrinivas replied to: rama anne post - 22 Jun, 2011
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10: Yes, we've always been imitators. We have not contributed anything of value to the world.
Posted by: Raj - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
11: I do not beleive Indians are immitators. After all, an Indian invented "0". After spending my
career in US for almost 40 years, I am back in India. My observation is there is a lack of leadership to promote "Innovation at work place" We are using most of our employees just to complete the given task...period. We need to encourage employees to spend at least 15% of their time to think different and come up with new ideas and tell them failure is OK, great break throughs will come up after couple of failures... we need to give free hand and mind. Dictatorial leadership is thing of the past. Innovartion will spring! Posted by: K C Venugopal - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
12:its all cos f the F*ing education system here . they jus tell us to mug up the crap . atleast 1 hr
should be given for the students to think somethin new . they should give extra marks in the board exams or semesters for the students who innovate somethin , only this can make r students think more and the parents will also encourage them to think . And Mr.K.C.Venugopal sir , nice to see yu in India , what are you doing here now ? Encouraging someone or just doing the regular thing ? Please, you can do somethin ! try encouragin r youth ppl :D caldwell replied to: K C Venugopal post - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
13: I don't remember the F* words being taught as part of our education system, what school did you
learn it from? Shrinivas replied to: caldwell post - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
14:You are right Venugopal...At the same time our working culture is very bad. Most of us are lazy at
our work place. We are being paid very less. All of us running for our daily lives, on that circumstance how we can have innovative ideas? Nielsns replied to: K C Venugopal post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
15:From our childhood we are discouraged to think differently. Rote learning aiming at high
percentage in the exam is still the most desirable trait we expect from our students. Doing something new may lead to temporary failure too. It should be taken lightly and due encouragement be given for trying something novel. This is almost totally absent in our mindset. Giving free hand is unthinkable in our ethos. Our administrators don't possess the ability to foster creativity. It is surprising even under such unfavourable circumstances some people display exemplary competence. Well said Mr. Venugopal Nalinaksha Mutsuddi replied to: K C Venugopal post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
16: Hi Vishalb
ISRO has ambitious programmes lined up for next few years Chandrayan 2 Mission ,,Aditya Solar Mission ,,GSLV Cryogenic engine development ,,etc why are our bright youth not pursueing career at ISRO ,,also DRDO needs good engineers ,,we also need good engineers at BAARC ,,Well guys I cannot preach ,,as iam also like you guys now aged 40 plus years ,,but now Indias space programm has matured to a stage ,,where exciting work is opening up ,,also IT Service sector is good but has dependent factors that are external ,,like outsourcing ,,currency fluictuations etc Indians Infra needs new engineers who have cross over technologies like Civil plus materials engg ,,GIS based software planning in PURA clusters etc I agree salary levels and ambience should be near or match up with It service sector ,,anyway our young can ponder on the above and then decide ,,with careful consulation with your mentors be it parents or your professors or teachers Posted by: rama anne - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
17:I hope the indian govt makes Pura clusters office with good ambience and attracts best minds in
Muncipal councils to Panchayats office rama anne replied to: rama anne post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
18: This is quite true but look at the reasons for it:
1> Eductaional Institutions: Look at the faculty. Most of them are the forced teachers rather than self motivated...Look at their resumes & U will find the majority were below average in their academics...having no fundamentals, no motivation, no ideas, no zeal. 2>look at research institutions: They are more working on Cut & paste techniques...& MORE FOCUSSED ON oFFICE POLITICS. 3> look at UGC etc...The procedures for grants of projects etc is so complex that it kills the zeal...& no one is accountable for delay..they can reject any proposal withou giving any reasons & no communication from their side making U feel inferior. tHE FOCUS OF InDIANS is on marriage if >21 or 18, o have child & expectedf to live a peaceful life.... The society pressure & various stigma attached to one personal life like why a person is not marrying, why not having children, why interested in other sex etc... the Indian society is such developed that one is expected to be a family man & this finally kills the zeal or risk taking capability of individual..... & Innovation is all about risk & free mind Posted by: AMIT SINGHAL - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
19: Well innovation require time and dedication from our end. here we work for more than 10 hr a
day and you are expecting after that work to do innovation. While in college never understood any technology as it was never taught in that way. Now we can understand but dont have time to do innovation.Occupied with work load. We ourself indian's are killing innovators. Some money hungry people make them work for donkey work than innovation. Hence we are call imitator
Posted by: vishalb - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
20: Urvashi Ahuja and others who have innovation ideas

please goto Tie indus entrepreneurs web site local chapters in India ,,they are in Bangalore ,,you can always fax them ,,email them etc your ideas and wait for reply alternatively ,,you can reach them in Bangalore office by appointment and then pitch your idea ,,they will tell whether it is feasable or not ,,some times even if it is not feasible ,,and you believe strongly ,,still you should keep pursueing it ,,even Govt of India ,,have set up some venture fund for this purpose Just like that couple of guys from AP who are Bits pilani engg grads and working at a MNC firm in Bangalore ,,i think chip design ,,started a website called Red Bus and got help from TIE indus entreprenuers ,,they now have devoted full time to their REDBUS web venture full time ,,likewise there are other stories ,,also sri Murthy of Infy has Cataraman venture fund as well Posted by: rama anne - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
21: Globalisation has made anything to be made and designed anywhere in the world
1.All Korean and Japanese cars are made in India and China 2.India did not have a Industrial Revolution like UK ,,Germany or even USA in its histoty of 66 yrs
3.66 yrs old ,,we are ,,we spent first 20 years setting IIts and Sail ,,Bhel ,,Isro etc 4.We are capital deficient until two decades ago ,,and had a slow growth rate of 2 plus pecent in 1970s and early 1980s 5.India will need time to sort out R and D and get its rhythm ,,it just does not happen overnight ,,it will take time 6.Corruption ,,Balck money ,,lack of good Infrastructure also effect overall health of R and D and the whole eco system of Innovation 7.But improvements will happen ,,Indian will find its way ,,it has to be natural and evolutionary ,,Media is simply wasting time and publishing masala ,,rather it should report news ,,not debates with masala Posted by: rama anne - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
22: Hi Full toss

Answers to your question 1.Indias LCA fighter aircraft is indigeneous with 60 percent ,,yes the KAVERI engine is still under testing and we sue GE engine at the moment All current programms are no longer 100 percent indigeneous ,,even Chinese fighters ,,New DreamLiner ,,its parts are sourced all over Europe too ,,so in a way the argument is outdated 2.One need not produce everything from scractch ,,such a need does not arise in the new Globalised world ,,somewhere in Supply Chain ,,you plug in 3.All Indian ICT service companies are Innovative too ,,they apply all technologies from Microsoft ,,Cisco ,,Sun etc and then service Fortune 1000 companies
4.Mahendra and Mahendra does produce indigenenous vehicles as well ,,designed in India ,,like Tractors 5.Indian space Programm ,,PSLV ,,AND its satellites are 100 percent indigeneous Silicon India is a masala website ,,its reportes have no job ,,they put out masala like Is Gandhi homosexual ,,Are Indian women abused etc ,,its all mind games to play into pyche of Indians ,,as India is on a grwoth path and envy of the world ,,except India ,,China and Australia catering to resources ,,there is all bust and sad news so all this MASALA ,,to waste time and get into peoples Psyche Posted by: rama anne - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
23:Well said Rama...While NRIs can easily comment on the state of affairs in India with respect to
innovation, it is ironic that those people have also contributed to the fact that India could not do much on innovation. Brain drain happened 2-3 decades back, and most of the the lot from IITs and other strong institutions went abroad in search of brighter pastures... I'm sure Indians are capable of innovations, but until the last generation their focus was mainly on survival..and could not take risk, as our culture and society also is tuned to expect a person perform his family responsibilities /obligations first, than giving importance to his own interests.. that is the nature of our upbringing, culture, societal values....and I respect that, as it differentiates us from the rest of the world... Bhanu replied to: rama anne post - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
24:Your are just deviating from my topic. What do you think?

Engine is the main thing in an aircraft. These guys took 3 decades or more and are still testing that Russian Joint Venture Kaveri Engine. You don't know anything, I have worked in HAL Bangalore, where we have met Managers in charge of Tejas project, they too have said we are 500 years behind Russia in Aircraft Technology. And no Hi tech CNC is designed and manufactured by India, because i am involved in manufacturing. Government spent 27 crores for a single multi-axes CNC machine in HAL which is of German make. Such PSLV and GSLV satellites were launched in developed countries 4 decades ago, we are just opening eyes now. Well, why do people dream of Ferrari, Lambhorgini, Hummers and cadillacs? Why don't they dream of Scorpio and Mahindra Jeep? Those Mahindras were not indigenously manufactured but they got technology from Tata comp and Tata comp got it from Daimler Chrysler company. Please accept the facts than rather just arguing. We need to do a lot more. We need investments from government and we too have brains. Fulltoss replied to: rama anne post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
25: Hi,
I simply disagree with the statement.Indians innovate the things but there are so many constraints Like no Investment, No Approach,Domination of Big Companies. So, there is no one to ask those innovators. E.g. I have an idea for B-School,but i dont have any approach to reach them.. 2. One person in india has the idea of moving of vehicles through Water.But he has no investment.... Posted by: Urvashi Ahuja - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
26:I agree with you. even if you come up with an innovative idea, its quite difficult to make it see the
light of the day. Although I have been into a lot of research of having my own startup and a tech venture, maybe I can help you somehow. I can be reached at: www.sheikhaman.com Sheikh Aman replied to: Urvashi Ahuja post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
27: Name anyone Indian company that designs and manufactures full aircraft engines indigenously.
Name anyone Indian company that designs and manufactures fully automated high end CNC Machines? Answers to these both are none. Both of these require very high R&D investments. All developed countries are capable of these both. Our sick government is not interested in development. Leaders are just eating money like there's no end. Even if 50% of money used for Import is allocated
for R&D, then we can make huge developments. Education is only for a rat race and survival. All foreign cash generated by taxes on IT and imported items is drained away by importing high end military technology and very costly CNC machines which are the backbone of all state of the art manufacturing companies in India. I don't say India is the only corrupt nation but Indian corruption is different, here corruption make survival itself a great big deal. Take my word, India will not move even an inch further if this kind of corruption goes on. We have brains but we are useless! Posted by: Fulltoss - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
28: Indian education system does not encourage students in R&D or innovation. It is job oriented and
good enough to produce slave employees . If one does not have the fire with in him / her to innovate from childhood days, it is very rare that one will become innovator at later stages of life. In India we don't have facility or infrastructure to try out new innovations. If you have some idea for a product or innovation, you won't find anybody who can guide you in right direction or it will impossible for a common man to use the available facility.[Can I use the electron microscope or a wind tunnel from a premier institute for my research?] Considering the population and number of premier institutes we are lagging very much behind the west. How many of us remember what we did in Physics / Chemistry labs in School & College days. What is the knowledge we gained and where are we using them? Posted by: kannan k - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
29:it is best to keep negative comments to oneself,,lots of people are getting jealous ,,only India and
China ,,and Aust with Minerals is growing ,,everywhere else ,, a different story rama anne replied to: kannan k post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
30: yes, we are imitators. we look at only growth in IT and pharma sectors to guage our
innovativeness.what about other fields? it is a big zero. even our country's economic model of neoliberal globalisation is blind copy of western economics which has repeatedly failed in the west including the recent global economic crisis and they are changing their model. we still measure our economic growth in terms of GDP and sensex, which do not truely reflect any growth. on the other hand, china has its own model. evenif it uses western model it is adapted to the country's culture and other factors. let me be proud that we are innovators in the field of new ways of corruption, nepotism and evading law. all patents on these belong to we the indians. Posted by: Subramania Iyer - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
31: The Indian society doesn't entertain or encourage any innovation. Right from childhood, every
Indian is brainwashed into doing a BE/BTech and joining an IT company. It is the only profession
which is accepted in the society. If a person decides not to go for BE/BTech, he/she is deemed unfit(since he/she can't get an admission) for the society and will be isolated. If a person decides not to join an IT company via campus placement, again the impression of him/her being a "useless" is created, even if its his/her personal choice to pursue higher studies. Even in colleges(my own experience), the students are always discouraged from doing any kind of research. The only thing where a student gets any kind of support is to get the first class minimum and to get a job in an IT company so that the college can add to the count of placements. Anybody willing to get out of this rut and pursue something that interests him/her is frowned upon by everyone. So, how is it possible for any innovations to be formed. Posted by: Anoop - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
32:agree 1000% what you said. If the son or daughter doesn't get through IITs, Medical, then
parents get ashamed ! IITs are a way to get good salary even if that means working as a dog-sitter for CEO in some hedge fund. Till they paid, no one complains. Who does BSc, MSc PhD these days ! only who fails in these entrance test. So we already overpopulate our research areas with mediocre peoples. That's why India is almost 0 in innovation. Subhradip replied to: Anoop post - 22 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
33: To understand the fundamental reason, of wht indians have more of imitations, we have look
back at education system. Indian system is a perfect recipe that kills freethinking and creativity. From the toung age they are handled like circus parrot to talk and think. Young kids are soo creative, they are the nolds, imho,all children shouldnt be trained equally, we need a system recognise born talents, and help them develop from square one. I will tell a story from a TED event. "Once a teacher gave stundents an activity to draw any thing they like, one kid was drawing something with real passion, curious teacher asked the kid what he was drawing, he said i'm drawing tje picture of god, teacher exclamed, said but no one has ever seen god, kid replied "In a moment you will" ". Posted by: althaf - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
34:yeah. in my school children who think or do at their will are labeled "indifferent" and punished.
Thinking is violently discouraged in schools. They just want children to be mindless bots to be controlled by the teacher's remote(they call this discipline). Anoop replied to: althaf post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
35: Here is an example of the "discipline" in force(taken from Satya Sai Institute for Higher Leaning
website) : Code of Conduct and Regulations A cultured Code of Conduct is a time-honoured and long cherished tradition of the hostel. Every student is exhorted to observe the rules and regulations wholeheartedly and in right spirit. 1. Each student is expected to practice obedience and reverence to teachers and elders sincerely. Mutual courtesy and gentlemanly behaviour also is important as it promotes peace and harmony among the students. --> The stress of obedience here makes my point. 2. Students are expected to wear decent and unostentatious dresses (white pant and white shirts) and maintain short and well-groomed hairstyle. Students are not supposed to sport moustache, beard and long side burns. --> this means, "We don't want you to have your own personality. We want you to be what we tell you to be". 3. Voluntarily maintaining silence during mass gatherings like assembly, in dining hall, inside classroom, inside Mandir etc. is expected from every student. Indulging in loud talk and idle chat is inexcusably condemned. --> So, these guys don't want students to communicate? Again an example of controlling the students mind. 4. Punctuality is essential in the disciplined life pattern at the hostel. All students are expected to be in time for all sessions whether in college or in the hostel --> The only point which I don't have a problem with.
5. Leaving the hostel premises for any reason other than attending college and Mandir, without explicit permission from the warden is not encouraged. Overnight stay outside the hostel is forbidden. --> In other words, "we don't want you to have a social life. Rather, we expect you to grow into bitter lifeless loners". 6. In the event of a student's presence being absolutely required at home, other than during the vacation, he should furnish the following to the Warden along with the leave application: a) The requisition letter from the parent. b) Permission letter from the college authority/the Doctor-in-charge (in case, it is for health reasons). The Warden, then, at his discretion may permit the student to go home and return to the hostel within the stipulated time. --> This is just rude and is a rule created only to create inconvenience. 7. Parents/guardians alone are permitted to meet their wards between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sundays only. No visitor is permitted to meet any student on working days or any other holidays. --> Another BS. 8. Personal possession of Iron box, tape recorder or transistor, video games, etc. is not allowed in the hostel. --> This means "we don't want you to have a life". 9. All students are required to maintain high standards of personal cleanliness and room cleanliness as well as the cleanliness of the surroundings. --> Yet another rule which I am okay with. 10. Students are not encouraged to keep any ready cash or valuables with them. --> This is understandable since they house 14 students in one room in "dormitory" style to promote communal living. 11. Students are expected to write letters once a week to their parents. Any breach of the rules and regulations mentioned above will not be tolerated. The hostel and college authorities reserve the right to expel any student from the hostel and the college at any time of the year if his behaviour is found
wanting. --> So, if I want to write an additional letter or contact my parents, I am not allowed to do so? This set of rules definitely came from a very sick/cruel mind who doesn't refuses to understand that students are in fact human beings. This is a graduate school that I'm talking about here. So, one can only speculate on what the schools(lower) under the same management is going to be like. Anoop replied to: Anoop post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
36: People are poor because of one main reason which can be done by one politicians is let the people
educate this is going well in many states of India but its once job that to know what you do with what you got. The main example i got to experience with my college mate is he is funded by the government first of all he is not thankful for what he got he thinks he deserves it and second he not interested in education he comes to college only because he will get the stipend... and every one in India expects some thing from the government and when they get it they waste it. I prefer that no one should get a direct from the government in money they have to do some thing like jobs in china. Corruption talking about it how many tries to give money to the traffic police when they caught and how many register land for a wrong bond as they can reduce tax and almost every one tries to skip taxes with fake bills and after-all a politician is an Indian with great power "minus" responsibility just like us... MANI replied to: Kirtidev Bhatt post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
37:My be you are good at what ever you are doing but india could develop any way. The development
of india didn't start with It industry. As experienced you know what an it professional do an equivalent job of an house builder with proper dress code and you use so called "computer". The R&D invents the module with the calculated performance and you use it in the right place just like the cement and the brick with are invented by others... I don't wanna offend anybody but doing a job which earn you money doesn't matter but doing a job which earn you respect, satisfaction, felling grateful to yourself about what you are doing and the pride end of the day that you have about your life matters. Which you can earn by innovative jobs and challenges that you face. And challenges are every where but the point is the field that you see the challenge as a challenge but not as problems suits you and one should have guts to get in to the field and make your self proved. MANI replied to: Karthik Krishnan post - 21 Jun, 2011 Reply Report abuse
38:1. Innovators create innovations that benefit all users of the product or service. It is the social set
up that drives its fruits to Tatas or Ambanis. It was this distorted view of money and innovation that
drove Communism to dust. 2. Innovation, whether product based or service based creates jobs. In fact product manufacturing creates longer lasting and real jobs while service based jobs depend upon contracts that can be transfered in minutes if the contractee is not happy. It is a kind of slavery. 3. Not only India but all countries need equal rise of income for all its people. Society that prospers always has a greater distribution of income among its people. India has a skewed income distribution and that is the reason we notice more poor than rich. Kirtidev Bhatt replied to: Karthik Krishnan post - 21 Jun, 2011
Manoj Kumar is again unhappy with Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan over the controversial spoof scene in their production Om Shanti Om. According to reports, the filmmakers had remove the scene after Manoj complained but looks like the past is coming back to haunt them all. "Manoj has been informed by his friends that they have seen the scene in controversy again. This flipped him," says a source. Manoj tells BT, "I hope the scene is not back into he film. I think what my friends have seen are from the lot that was already out and not the new one." Farah said, "I'm on really good terms with him now and he would have called me if there was a problem because the DVDs were released three years ago ... as far as I know scene was deleted." Check out Stars Homepage
NEW DELHI: For the second time within a month, DMK chief M Karunanidhi rushed to Delhi for an emotional meeting with his daughter Kanimozhi in Tihar Jail on Tuesday, a day after the Supreme Court rejected her bail plea. The 87-year-old patriarch, accompanied by his wife and Kanimozhi's mother, Rajathi Ammal, met Kanimozhi for 20 minutes in a 15x10 room in the transit lounge of jail number 6 on Tuesday evening. He later met former Kalaignar TV MD and CEO Sharad Kumar and ousted telecom minister A Raja. Jail sources said Karunanidhi entered the room with tears in his eyes. "The moment Kanimozhi came into the room, she clasped his hand. She then embraced her mother and spoke animatedly in Tamil. Rajathi Ammal kept wiping tears with her sari while the two stood next to Karunanidhi," a source said.
While tea was served to Karunanidhi by the jail staff, he did not touch it. The visiting couple had brought two packets of murukku, a popular snack, which was consumed in the room itself. "Karunanidhi and Ammal asked their daughter how she was doing. Kanimozhi in turn inquired about her son. The former CM assured her of the best legal help in fighting her case. They discussed three-four well-known lawyers who could be hired and strategized how they should move ahead. Karunanidhi kept assuring both his wife and daughter that all would be well," the source said. DG (prisons) Neeraj Kumar said while six people had sought to meet Kanimozhi, Raja and Sharad Kumar between 4pm and 6pm, only two were granted permission as per jail rules. "We cannot let so many people to meet at the same time. As a special courtesy to Karunanidhi, we allowed them to meet all the three inmates in the same room as it is difficult for him to move about," Kumar said. Those whose request was turned down were DMK leaders M K Alagiri, Duraimurugan, K Ponmudi, E V Velu and K Shanmuganathan. After the DMK's first couple had spoken to Kanimozhi for 20 minutes, Sharad Kumar was also called into the room. Ten minutes later, A Raja too was brought in.
NEW DELHI: Government and civil society exercise to work out an agreed draft of the Lokpal Bill ended in failure on Tuesday night after whichAnna Hazare announced that he will go ahead with his fast from August 16 to "teach the government a lesson". After nine meetings spread over two months, the joint drafting committee of the two sides concluded its deliberations on a note of disagreement with the government asserting that it could not allow creation of a parallel structure which would be "answerable to nobody". The government draft ruled out scrutiny of Prime Minister, higher judiciary and the conduct of MPs in Parliament by the Lokpal. However, the government draft proposes several critical powers conferring quasi-judicial status to Lokpal besides powers to attach assets, independent prosecution and investigation machinery with full police powers under the proposed ombudsman. After acrimonious meetings, the last two meetings were cordial and both sides
"agreed to disagree". Law minister M Veerappa Moily said the mandate of the committee was to prepare a Lokpal Bill and not to rewrite Constitution. While government claimed that discussions with civil society have helped to bring out a "strong and robust" bill, the Hazare camp expressed "deep disappointment" with the government draft. "The government has no intention to bring a strong Lokpal Bill. It is misleading the people. Now, there is no option but to go on fast from August 16 as announced earlier," Hazare told reporters after the meeting. "People will teach them (government) a lesson," he said adding his agitation will be against the government and not Parliament as contended by Union Minister Salman Khurshid. The Hazare camp said major differences persisted with government rejecting all their major demands like inclusion of Prime Minister, higher judiciary, MPs' acts inside Parliament under the ambit of Lokpal and procedure for selection and removal of the ombudsman. The various proposals in the government draft include powers to take suo motu cognizance of act of corruption, powers to investigate cases against officials above Joint Secretary rank, recommend transfer and suspension during the course of probe and provision for time-bound trial by special courts. The government draft does away with provision for securing sanction for prosecuting a public servant.
Differences persist but meet cordial, say Team Anna, government

New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) A crucial round of talks between Team Hazare and the government ended Monday with both sides sticking to their stands on key issues, including on bringing the prime minister within the ambit of a strong Lokpal bill.
But both sides for the first time agreed that the atmosphere of their seventh meeting was 'nonacrimonious' and 'cordial'. Emerging from the three-hour, penultimate meeting at North Block, Gandhian Anna Hazare described it as 'good' and said the talks are 'finally' back on track. While Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal described the meeting as a 'major step forward', the civil society members were less happy, saying that 'two new issues of disagreement have emerged' and the key issues are yet to be resolved. The two sides will be meeting for the last time Tuesday - to exchange their versions on the 'contentious issues' on the Lokpal bill, which would then be submitted to the cabinet for a final call. Speaking to reporters, Sibal said there were 'full-fledged discussions on a range of issues. The atmosphere was non-acrimonious, it was friendly... there was a broad consensus.' 'I think it's a major step forward. Both sides feel that we should move towards a consensus, and where there are significant areas of divergence and disagreements to formulate a draft in which those areas will be spelt out,' he said. Sibal also said the government will be meeting and discussing the key issues with political parties. The all-party meet - the dates will be announced - will be held in July. 'It has been a major breakthrough because ultimately on the basis of the broad range of agreements, I think there will ultimately be a strong Lokpal bill, which will be put in place,' he said, adding that the bill will be introduced in the monsoon session of parliament. He claimed that the two sides agreed on '80-85 percent of the clauses' in the bill. However, the civil society members denied this. Describing Monday's meeting as 'cordial', civil society members said 'differences persisted' between the two sides. The two sides have been locked in a war of words in recent weeks over various issues, including on whether or not to bring the prime minister and higher judiciary within the ambit of the Lokpal. Although this was not taken up in Monday's meeting, the two areas of disagreement that arose were on removal of the Lokpal and appointment of the Lokpal selection committee.
Later, lawyer and Hazare confidante Prashant Bhushan said: 'We had two new issues that were discussed. One was the appointment of the Lokpal selection committee and the other was removal of the Lokpal.' The meeting started Monday 11 a.m. and went on till 2 p.m. Giving more details, Arvind Kejriwal, also activist member of the drafting committee, said they had 'proposed a broad-based committee consisting of non-political and independent people in the draft of the proposed bill while the government's version has mainly political people in the appointment committee'. 'There were a lot of disagreements between both the sides, but all of them were discussed in an elaborate way,' Kejriwal said. Besides Hazare, Bhushan and Kejriwal, other civil society activists on the panel that was set up in April to frame a comprehensive Lokpal bill to fight corruption in high places are Karnataka Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde and Supreme Court advocate Shanti Bhushan. Hedge could not attend the meeting as he had some prior commitment and would be attending Tuesday's meeting. The government is represented by cabinet ministers Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram, M. Veerappa Moily, Salman Khurshid and Sibal.
NEW DELHI: The coal ministry on Friday cancelled allocation of two coal blocks of NTPC for not developing them within the stipulated time frame. The blocks -- Brahimini in Jharkhand and Chichro Patsimal in Orissa -- hold 2,256 million tonnes coal reserves and were allocated to the company in 2006. The coal ministry on Thursday issued orders to revoke mining licences of five blocks of NTPC, Damodar Valley Corp and Jharkhand State Electricity Board with combined reserves of 1,000 million tonnes. The power ministry said it would take up the issue with coal ministry and higher authorities. NTPC floated a joint venture company with Coal India Ltdto develop Brahimini and Chichro Patsimal blocks to meet coal requirement of Farakka and Kahalgaon expansion projects. The coal ministry had last month announced decision to revoke licences of 15 coal and lignite blocks, 12 of which belonged to state-run companies. On June 1, letters were issued to three companies Bhaidyanath Ayurved Bhavan, Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corp and Bhatia International for cancellation of five blocks. The move is followed by recommendations of a review committee on progress of coal blocks. The panel had originally recommended de-allocation of 31 coal blocks held by 26 firms including Tata Steel , NTPC,
Hindalco and Nevyeli Lignite Corporation. The de-allocated blocks would be allotted to Coal India Ltd or its subsidiaries for mining.
Pakistani-Canadian businessman Tahawwur Husain Rana, charged with facilitating the November 2008 attack in Mumbai, has been convicted of providing material support to the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as conspiring to stage a terrorist strike against Copenhagen. Rana was, however, acquitted of charges that he played a direct role in the Mumbai attack. The 50-year-old Chicago resident now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in jail, the United States Department of Justice said in a press release. Prosecutors had charged Rana with three terror-related crimes: participating in a conspiracy to provide material support to terror in India; conspiring to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark; and providing material support to the Lashkar. Rana had, the prosecutors said, conspired with Lashkar intelligence operative David Headley to provide personnel, tangible property, money, and false documentation and identification, and to conceal and disguise the nature of such support to those who planned and carried out the Mumbai attacks. Even though juries in the United States do not have to provide reasons for their decisions, the 12 women and men who ruled on Rana's case appear to have been unconvinced by Headley's testimony that he discussed plans to attack Mumbai with his childhood friend. Lawyers for Rana pointed out that the businessman was in Mumbai with his children and wife just days before the attack evidence apparently inexplicable if he had prior knowledge of the strike. However, a mass of evidence including e-mail and intercepted conversations showed that Rana was aware of, and willing to support, Headley's operations on behalf of the Lashkar and Pakistan's intelligence services. Rana's lawyer Patrick Blegan said the defence would appeal the judgment. He insisted that his client was not guilty. The jury came to another decision. We respect their decision, but we think they got it wrong, he said.
Ramdev's call for sena' triggers new war of words

C.K. Chandramohan Chidambaram warns him of dire consequences Haridwar: Upping the ante in his confrontation with the United Progressive Alliance government, Baba Ramdev declared on Wednesday that he would be forming a sena,' or army, of 11,000 young men and women trained in the use of scripture and weapons to counter any future attempt by the police to disrupt his movement. His announcement, on the fifth day of his fast against corruption, was denounced by the Congress as a call to rebellion, while Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the law would deal with the Baba were he to act upon his threat.
Government doctors who conducted a medical check on Ramdev in the morning advised him to give up his fast as he had lost weight rapidly, reportedly 5 kg. The condition of some of his supporters, who are also on fast, was deteriorating and they were seen lying down instead of participating in bhajans. Speaking to followers at the Yagyashala of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Ramdev said: I appeal that 20 young men and women from every district should come here to be trained in shaastra and shastra [weapons]. He added that his sena would ensure that he did not lose any battle on the Ramlila Maidan in future, a reference to his midnight eviction last week by the Delhi police. At the same time, he insisted that his sena would be raised only for self-defence. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who interacted with Ramdev, told journalists later that she had come to pay a courtesy call and enquire about his health. Ms. Swaraj lashed out at the Centre for having first sent four Ministers to talk with Ramdev and then silently sending 5,000 policemen to attack and disperse his sleeping followers at night. Extending the BJP's support to the yoga instructor, Ms. Swaraj said he had refused to end his fast. Among the other visitors was Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal, providing further ammunition to the Centre's charge that the sangh parivar was behind his campaign.
DEHRA DUN: President Pratibha Patil on Saturday urged the young Army officers to keep themselves abreast of new and emerging technologies and play the role of leaders as taught to them at the prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA) here. Addressing the new crop of officers after reviewing the passing out parade of the regular and allied courses, the President urged the officers to always remain open to new ideas. You should maintain calm while handling the toughest of situations and instil a sense of unity and camaraderie amongst the men you command, she said. Provide succour Ms. Patil reminded the officers that although their main role was of a warrior and a protector, they should also provide succour during calamity and distress. Praising the perfect turnout and march-past, the President said the officers were the few chosen ones who were lucky to get this opportunity to serve the motherland. You have been provided the best of training and the nation is proud of the large number of excellent officers produced by the IMA, she said. The President felt that it was a matter of great pride that the officers had attained the confidence of the international community that they were being deployed as a peace-keeping force under the aegis of the United Nations. Great moments There were great moments for Academy Cadet Adjutant Rohit Shekhar as the President presented him the Sword of Honour' for the best all-round performance. The gold medal was awarded to Gentleman Cadet B. Ramkumar. The silver medal was bagged by Gentleman Cadet Raghav Swarup Gupta. The bronze medal of the regular course went to Gentleman Cadet Prashant Pandharinath Shinde and the silver medal of the technical graduate course went to Gentleman Cadet Varun Sood. The silver medal of TES-17 course was bagged by Gentleman Cadet Jee Thomas. As many as 546 officers, including two from Nepal, were commissioned in the Army. Seventeen Gentleman Cadets from abroad also passed out. These include two each from Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia and nine from Tajikistan. Chief of Army Staff Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh, Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva and Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and were present on the occasion.
Backing Baba, BJP ties itself in knots

Neena Vyas NEW DELHI: The government has been on the back foot on corruption and for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been looking for an issue to latch on to, it was an opportunity to seize, which it did. But in supporting a Ramdev on the bring-back-the black money-held-abroad' platform and an Anna Hazare, who is threatening mass protests if a Lokpal Bill is not passed by Parliament before August 15, the party seems to have tied itself up in knots. In doing so, it has yielded to civil society activists the very political space it has insisted rightfully belongs to it as the Opposition. The party is now attacking the government for not negotiating with Baba Ramdev on a law to curb black money but barely 10 days ago it took a strictly constitutional position in criticising the government for giving more importance to the views of outside groups rather than parties, MPs and Parliament in drafting legislation. On May 31, BJP president Nitin Gadkari took a legally, constitutionally and politically correct position when he wrote to Pranab Mukherjee, chair of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee, who had sought the party's views. In our governance model, the Constitution is supreme. Sovereignty lies with Parliament in the matter of legislation, the Gadkari letter said. Propriety demanded that the stakeholders and interested groups (read Hazare and his band of civil society members) give their views to parties, MPs so that eventually Parliament could take a final view, not the other way around. It would be upsetting constitutional propriety if political parties gave their views to a drafting committee comprising civil society representatives who might accept or reject their views, he wrote. That letter was obviously written by a party which was worried that unflinching support for civil society activism would shrink its own political space and make it irrelevant. Yet, when it came to Baba Ramdev fasting to get a law aimed at bringing back black money stashed away abroad, the BJP has demanded that the government negotiate with the yoga expert. The V.P. Singh government, which was elected in 1989 on the Bofors-related corruption issue with Left and Right support, failed to pass a Lokpal Bill, as did successive governments. The BJP, too, has failed to answer why from 1998 to 2004 it did absolutely nothing to either curb corruption through a Lokpal Bill or bring back black money, although the Lokpal issue was very much on the agenda. Much like the Congress today, the BJP could not make up its mind whether or not to bring the Prime Minister within the purview of the proposed ombudsman. The BJP's differing approaches to Ramdev and Mr. Hazare are not difficult to understand. Ramdev has the full and open support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, BJP's mentor, while the Hazare camp is a bit wary of being seen in saffron company lest the Left liberal camp desert it. The problem for the BJP is that the more it forces the government to yield its authority and constitutional right to legislate, the more it will have to yield the opposition space to the outsiders and the less successful it will be in making political capital of the government's weakness. Already, the anti-corruption campaign has been hijacked by Ramdev and Mr. Hazare and, even Arvind Kejriwal, who made some fiery speeches while sitting on dharna opposite the Rajghat. As for the BJP's dharna at the Rajghat, it ended in a political controversy with Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj being criticised for dancing at the Mahatma's samadhi. She did not apologise for what the Congress called national sacrilege, but said she was dancing to patriotic songs and the Mahatma' soul must have been pleased. Will the BJP end up cutting off its nose to spite the ruling party's face? Will it yield the Opposition space to civil society and an assortment of babas' as it tries to corner the government? Is it playing with fire and undermining the parliamentary system and will it have to share blame with the government for negotiating with anyone who threatens to collect a crowd?
UNAIDS welcomes new initiatives taken at New York high-level meet

Aarti Dhar NEW DELHI: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has welcomed the new targets set by world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS held in New York. Countries agreed to advance efforts towards reducing sexual transmission of HIV and halving by 2015 HIV infection among people who inject drugs. They also agreed to push towards eliminating new HIV infections among children in the next five years. Leaders pledged to increase the number of people on life-saving treatment to 15 million and reduce tuberculosis-related deaths in people living with HIV by half in the same time period. The targets come at a time when international assistance for the AIDS programme has dropped for the first time since 2001. Member-States agreed to increase AIDS-related spending by 2015 to reach between $ 22 billion and $ 24 billion in low-and middle-income countries. These far-reaching goals are set in the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS: Intensifying our Efforts to eliminate HIV/AIDS, adopted by the General Assembly on June 10. The declaration notes that the HIV prevention strategies inadequately focus on populations at higher risk specifically men who have sex with men, sex workers and people who inject drugs, and calls on countries to focus their response based on epidemiological and national contexts. These are concrete and real targets that will bring hope to the 34 million people living with HIV and their families, said Michel Sidib, Executive Director of UNAIDS. Through shared responsibility, the world must invest sufficiently today, so we will not have to pay forever. The declaration calls on all U.N. Member-States to redouble their efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2015 as a critical step towards ending the global AIDS epidemic. A pledge to eliminate gender inequality, gender-based abuse and violence, and to increase the capacity of women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from HIV infection was also made. The declaration recognises that access to sexual and reproductive health has been and continues to be essential to the AIDS response and that governments have the responsibility of providing public health services focused on the needs of families, particularly women and children. Member-States also agreed to review laws and policies that adversely impact on the successful, effective and equitable delivery of the HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programmes to people living with and affected by HIV. With reports of nearly 7,000 new HIV infections each day, the declaration reaffirms that preventing HIV must be the cornerstone of national, regional and international responses to the AIDS epidemic. It calls for expanding access to essential HIV prevention commodities, particularly male/female condoms and sterile injecting equipment. Calling for intensifying national HIV testing campaigns; it urges countries to deploy new bio-medical interventions as soon as they are validated, including earlier access to treatment, as prevention.
Veer didn't exactly veer towards success. And Zareen Khan, who illumined her debut with the Salman Khan starrer found that there really were no takers after Khan's period flick opened to a middling response. All the heartache, however, is a matter of the past. Courtesy: character dheela hai, her song track from Readythat has vaulted Zareen into the ace bracket of 'item number girls'. If Katrina Kaif's Sheila and Malaika Arora Khan's Munni were the flavour of the season earlier, it's now time to laud Zareen and her 'character.' Reportedly, the actress is studiously going through the paces of her steps and is taking her dancing bit rather seriously since Zareen expects to be performing character dheela hai for a slew of forthcoming awards functions.
Guess, Zareen's Ready to sizzle
Launching the films music along with live concerts seem to be the flavour of the season and the latest crew to jump the bandwagon is the cast of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara The three actors of the film - Hrithik, Farhan and Abhay will be seen singing live and jamming with the audiences on Saturday, 11th June, 2011 at a mall and sources reveal that this live performance by the three boys will definitely be something to watch out for with the film's music director, ShankarEhsaan-Loy also being present. The trio has also sung the song Senorita for the film, which is a peppy track with all three of them tap dancing. The actors will sing this song at the concert which they have been rehearsing for in the midst of their hectic schedules.
Not a remake of 'Hangover': Farhan

Abhay was heard saying, I was asked to sing and was told not to worry about the scales. The equipments will take care of the voice and make it sound good, so I agreed. I didn't practice the song,just got the lyrics and started singing at all." Ritesh Sidhwani, producer confirms, "Yes we are planning an innovative event on Saturday, where all three boys will sing live." The movie is about these three friends who take off for a bachelor trip and how their lives undergo a major change after that. The film releases on 15th July, 2011
LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA

Submitted by sawant on Wed, 2009-07-15 05:27.
LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP OF INDIA AND CHINA By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM India loves China; China loves India = True or False? Indeed that is a quiz for the secondary education level boys and girls. The school children were a wee bit confused when confronted with this question like our national leaders of the Nehruvian School of Thought were. Both the children and adults of postindependence India had been brought up on the mental feed enriched by protein doses of slogans like Hindi-Cheeni Bhai-Bhai. The slogan did not reflect a factual position. It was just romantic fiction a la carte Sir Walter Scott of the Elizabethan era. Jawaharlal Nehru loved this fiction and nurtured it with his heart and soul. His counterpart in China, Chou-En-Lai had no such misgivings. A hard boiled Communist brought up on a diet of rock like realities of life where death stalked him at every bend of the mule track in the mountainous terrain in the Long March from the South to the North-West China, Chou was a Chinese gentleman to his finger tips always non-committal. Jawaharlal Nehru was a gentleman born with a silver spoon in his mouth, educated in the United Kingdom to be a lawyer but plunged into the freedom movement to drive the British rulers out of the sacred soil of India through non-violent noncooperation. Nehru and under his leadership, India loved Chou and China. Did Chou and China love Nehru and India? The international scenario and the border dispute on India-China border had a different tale to tell. Indeed it was a perfect picture portraying love-hate relationship. Picture perception is an art and intelligent artists were hard to come by. By nature and temperament Chou and Nehru were Poles apart but they professed friendship of the first degree based on the cultural ties of the two countries that went beyond Buddha. So said Nehru on many ceremonial occasions when Chou just smiled. An enigmatic smile and equally enigmatic words that were difficult to interpret then. The pressmen noticed at times an undercurrent of one-upmanship between the two prime ministers of neighbouring giants at international gatherings like the Non-Aligned Meet at Bandung. It was, however, momentary. Both of them professed friendship and claimed that their friendship was based on a history of good relationship embedded in culture and common mans concepts that had roots in soil enriched by both countries for many millennia. The whole concept and the words explaining that concept looked and sounded like a Chinese puzzle. The deep roots of brotherly love that they claimed was, however, only skin deep. Were there any royal visits in the past or were there any diplomatic weddings among the ruling dynasties of the two countries? The pages of history are mute on marriages and exchange of royal gifts. The only exception is visits of Buddhist monks from India to China to propagate the Bauddh Dharma in China. Buddhism got royal support too and became a major religion with a vast following in China and the Far East. There were visits of Chinese scholars professing Buddhism to India for higher studies and taking a look at the original scriptures. Fa Hsien and Huen Tsang or Shuan Jang were two prominent
personalities among them who left behind travel literature for historians of later ages. That was it. The Communist regime of China did not feel very comfortable in promoting Buddhist Thought or any other religion since they are atheists. There is no Dharma for a Communist individual or a Communist State. Self survival at any cost is the golden Mantra that they chant and act upon. CHINA MARCHED INTO TIBET The Peoples Republic of China came into being on 1st October 1949 when the then Chiang Kai Shek government went into exile and fled to Formosa (now Taiwan) to escape a trial for treason. With a total lack of opposition from the comity of nations and complete support of the Chinese people, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung consolidated power and launched an expansionist policy around the frontiers of JUNG GWO or the middle country as the Chinese call their motherland. Their eyes fell on Tibet, called Syi Dzong in the Chinese language. The Peoples Liberation Army met with little military resistance and almost had a walk over. Since then Tibet has been an Autonomous Region of China. Frankly speaking, autonomy is for namesake just on paper, otherwise the Chinese govt in Beijing rules the roost in Lhasa. Thereafter there have been many uprisings of the Tibetan people against the Chinese rule but all were of no avail. Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India did not raise a little finger to oppose the Chinese takeover of Tibet. The people of India, by and large, developed a hatred for the Chinese use of force against peaceful people of Tibet and that was all. Nehrus govt was still enamoured of the Chou govt of China. But the Chinese were planning further expansion of the Dragon Empire at the cost of India. Nehrus Intelligence people remained ignorant of evil designs of China because they were still under the spell of HINDI-CHEENI BHAI BHAI fantasy bordering black magic. Swallowing Tibet only sharpened the appetite of the Chinese Dragon and our corridors of power in New Delhi only hummed tunes of Chinese music that was dear to Nehrus ears. The Disaster was indeed lurking round the corner for the people of India that the political leaders or bureaucrats could not foretell. The Chinese lullaby had lulled them to sleep that was almost like a drunken stupor. CHINA ATTACKED INDIA TOO Nehru and his ministers were rudely shaken out of slumber and a dream extravaganza when the Peoples Liberation Army attacked India in both Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh (then called NEFA)in October 1962. It was too late and the Indian soldiers paid with their lives and limbs because the Indian Army was ill clothed, ill armed and ill prepared to face a professional force that had fought a civil war and knew what a war was. The hatred of India for China was at its zenith during and after the war. The country was helpless and so was its incompetent leadership under a China lover named Nehru. Nehru could not believe that his bosom friends, Chou and China had stabbed him and his
motherland in the back. But seeing is believing and this belief came rather late in the day. Unfortunately Nehru suffered a stroke from which he could not recover and breathed his last in May 1964. That was the end of the HINDICHEENI BHAI BHAI era. As the Indian hatred against China grew in intensity day by day, China leaned towards Pakistan, an arch-enemy of Indias. Thereafter there was no love for China in India, only hate and hate. As the hate scenario changed a wee bit with the passage of time, India and China evolved a system of working relationship. However, Pakistan continued to be the blueeyed boy of Beijing. Never mind killing of Uighur Muslims in Urumqi, Xinjiang by the Han Chinese security forces during frequent ethnic riots. Our compatriots, specially the Hindu pilgrims suffered in more ways than one. The Hindu pilgrims who had been going on pilgrimage to Mount Kailas and pious lake Mansarovar since time immemorial, were stopped by the Chinese at the Tibet borders. The pilgrimage remained suspended for almost two decades. It could be resumed only when there was a diplomatic thaw. I have had the privilege of going on a visit to Mount Kailas and Lake Mansarovar in 1993 and found that the Chinese suzerainty was in evidence all over Tibet. Thanks to the myopic policy of our specialists in foreign affairs, we Indians were losers vis-avis the Chinese government. It is hoped that our so called specialists have learnt a lesson after tasting defeat on both the military front and the diplomatic front. There have been many exchanges of delegations between India and China. At best it can be termed a sort of working relationship where there is no war and no peace. The common man still hates China. An average Chinese citizen does not like an Indian either. The Chinese love Pakistanis and vice-versa. There are historical reasons for it. When India and the USSR were good friends, China and Pakistan extended hands of friendship to each other. This has stood the test of time, notwithstanding China suppressing her Muslim minorities on her western borders. Anyway, there is no love lost between India and China despite all kinds of high level exchange of visits to each others country. Will China attack India sometimes in the next decade when the going gets tough economically for her? Well, it is a hypothetical question and need not be analysed. Suffice it to say that the Peoples Republic of China has reached the take off stage for becoming a world power economically and militarily. Her competition will be with the United States of America at the global level. Under these circumstances China will not like to be bogged down in a regional fracas with India as it will be counter-productive. In the interest of progress,
The Reserve Bank of India has hiked its repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 7.25 per cent to 7.5 per cent with immediate effect in the mid-quarter review of its monetary policy. The announcement was on expected lines.
Consequent to the increase in the repo rate, the reverse repo rate under the LAF will stand automatically adjusted to 6.5 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate to 8.5 per cent with immediate effect. The hike in rates is being made to control inflation and anchor inflationary expectations by reining in demand. The central bank has hiked its repo rate for the fourth time this calendar year. Repo rates have increased by 125 basis points so far in calendar 2011. The earlier hikes were done on January 25, March 17th and May 3rd. The last hike in May was steeper with a 50 basis points increase compared to the 'baby steps' of 25 basis points earlier. The RBI has said in its policy review that inflation remains uncomfortably high. The headline WPI inflation number in May was at 9.1 per cent and could even be revised upwards. This is way beyond its comfort level of between 4 and 5 per cent. The central bank also points out that the headline inflation number may still be understated because fuel prices are yet to be fully passed on. It concedes that in the short-run there may be a deceleration in growth in order to keep inflation under control. GDP growth in 2011-12 is expected to be around 8 per cent or less compared with 8.5 per cent in the last fiscal. Keywords: RBI, monetary policy review, repo, reverse repo rates, marginal standing facility, inflation
ARNOLD Schwarzenegger blamed it all on his sexless marriage to Maria Shriver, never mind the fact that his sexless marriage fetched him four kids. But Schwarzenegger's plight surely evoked sympathy, secretly at least, among many a married couples in India, who have been dragging their sexless marriages for years. Experts caution that the number of couples in such marriages is on the rise and its no more uncommon to find couples who havent even consummated their marriage and reach out to a counsellor for help. Garima and Ritesh Jain (names changed) are one such example. On the outside, they seem to have everything going for them. Both husband and wife in their thirties hold plum posts in multinational companies, but the fat pay cheques they get at the end of each month havent been able to fill the void in their eight-year-old marriage. "My husband was unable to perform in the bed. Soon after the marriage we tried several times, but somehow we weren't able to consummate the marriage. And then somehow we got busy with our lives," says Garima. At one point of time, the couple wanted to separate. "I went back to live with my family, but they insisted I go back and carry on with the marriage. That's when we decided to see a counsellor," says Garima.
Their counsellor, Dr Aruna Broota, told us living in sexless marriages is an emerging trend something that she had to deal with all the time. "Indian society is very rigid, and this couple did not want to separate because of social shame and economic insecurity. We are governed by very conservative social norms and people live in loveless sexless marriages without letting it be known," says Dr Broota.
Imran is working on a project with Ranbirs ex-fling Katrina Kaif . And the actor is all praise for this beauty. After watching Kats work in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, I am ready to bet my last penny that everyone who has spoken unfavourably about Katrina's acting calibre will have to change their opinion. She has proved her acting potentials in her recently released films too. Moreover, Kats is a very respected and good human being. She also has very good sense of humour, and is impressive too." he concludes.
Succession Planning: Some hiccups, but Indian IT shows the way
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Shyamanuja Das, On Thursday 16 June 2011, 9:05 AM
\A few other examples of the past, such as that of WNS Global Services, one of the top BPO companies, which took more than a year to name a successor when its founder director announced his resignation,
have strengthened this perception. Coming at a time when most of the first generation leaders - many of them founders and entrepreneurs - are stepping down, such a perception may create doubts about the ability of this sector to create value in the long term. Research by Dataquest shows that this perception is not exactly based on fact. Among the larger Indian IT companies, more firms have had a well-planned succession strategy than those who did not have such a plan. They include India's largest IT company, TCS, which saw a leadership change in 2009; Cognizant, which had had that transition in 2007; and HCL Technologies, where the leadership baton passed to a new CEO in 2007. All these three are among the top five offshoring companies from India. In the BPO segment too, Genpact and EXL, two of the largest BPO firms, had had a good succession planning in place while HCL Infosystems, the largest Indian company focussed on the home market, too has had a well-executed transition. Based on the examples of these companies, here are a few trends that we have noticed in the good succession plans: The planning happens at least three years before transition. In all these cases, except HCL Infosystems, the faces of successors were projected internally and externally well before the actual transition. In HCL Infosystems, while the name was not known, it was pretty clear internally that someone from outside and much younger was taking over. So, there was no surprise for employees, customers and investors. Usually, there is a generational shift. In all these succession plans, there is a minimum age difference of 10 years. In one case, it is 21 years. That is clearly the next generation in an industry which is not more than 30 years old. This is an acknowledgment of two things: one, the business rules change over a period of time and a fresher approach is always better and two, any new CEO should have enough time to carry out his plans and ideas. Usually, the new leader has to have deep understanding of the core business, whether insider or outsider. While the shifts may be generational, and it is a good idea to get a fresh approach, a lack of understanding of what is the most important thing in the business may create problems. So, for most offshore companies, it is both an understanding of the front-end as well as the delivery. Understanding of customers may come from an outsider but understanding of delivery would come from someone who has spent time internally. In all our examples concerning offshore companies, it is internal people who have been promoted to the top job. HCL Infosystems, which has most of its people in the front-end, decided to go for an outsider who has good understanding of the customer. Here are a few examples from the recent past: TCS
S. Ramadorai 65/N. Chandrasekaran 45 Year of Change: 2009 The age difference between them is 20 years. While TCS' Ramadorai was known for his organization building and driving the depth of execution - TCS listed under him, remained a best employer and made major acquisitions in selected markets - Chandrasekaran is a hands-on man, always with customers and very active in industry causes. Has recently taken over as NASSCOM vice chairman. Cognizant Lakshmi Narayanan 54/Francisco D'Souza 38 Year of Change: 2007 If Lakshmi Narayanan was the bridge between the old era and the new, who grew from becoming a programmer to a large project man to a CEO, D'Souza, at 38, is the youngest CEO of a professionally managed large company. While continuing with the growth machine image of the company, he started pursuing completely newer opportunities, instead of trying to play catch up with the bigger companies in the latter's turf. HCL Technologies Shiv Nadar 60/Vineet Nayar 43 Year of Change: 2007 Shiv Nadar is a legend and attained that status much before even Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji. Nadar was a rebel who questioned all the trends so far in the industry. He was successful in challenging some of them and was not so successful in others but never gave up. His latest - employees first, customers second - is now not just the latest idea to be discussed in US B-schools, it is also a bestseller book. HCL Infosystems Ajai Chowdhry 60/Harsh Chitale 39 Year of Change: 2010
The only outsider to take up the top job in such a generational shift in this list, Chitale has proved his credentials, albeit outside the company. But for a company that has the majority of its staff in the frontend, understanding the opportunities outside was more important than understanding the organization, unlike in case of offshoring companies. Founder CEO Ajai Chowdhry, a man with all the old world virtues and sophistication - he is a good singer actually - chose someone who shared his trust and values but little else. Genpact Pramod Bhasin 59/Tiger Tyagarajan 50 Year of Change: 2011 As founder CEO, Bhasin built the DNA of the company, commercialized it and built the depth and quality. Some of the best managers in the Indian BPO industry were trained by him. Tyagarajan is a man of execution; who was instrumental in driving non-GE revenue in the initial years. Bhasin has the larger than life image but Tyagarajan is more comfortable with technology, is more in touch with people and even writes a regular blog at http://tigertyagarajan.blogspot.com. EXL Service Vikram Talwar 58/Rohit Kapoor 43 Year of Change: 2008 Though there is an age difference of 15 years between them, they together founded the company. That is something that any company would envy: to have a next generation leader who understands the company so much. If Talwar is a maverick, is often irritated by the ignorance of the media and analysts, Kapoor is cool, measured and hands-on.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said here on Monday that the Mumbai police had obtained some concrete leads in the J. Dey murder case. The police have released the sketch of an accused who is suspected to have shot the senior reporter. The suspect, in the 20-25 age group, is approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and of medium-build. Police said that he had a dark complexion. The sketch has been prepared on the basis of an account given by an eyewitness, Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy told The Hindu. The police have said that they had received a few concrete leads and they would crack the case soon. Mr. Roy said around 20 persons had been questioned so far. We have formed five teams. Around 70 to 80 officers are working on the case. When asked if elements within the police department would also be interrogated after some such names cropped up, Mr. Roy said that the Crime Branch would investigate all the possibilities. Official sources said two police teams had gone out of the city to follow some important leads.
HYDERABAD: Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan has demanded the resignation of Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran in the wake of allegations against him in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said that in the course of ongoing investigations, the role of ministers in the 2G scam was coming to light, the latest addition being that of Mr. Maran. His ongoing term in the Cabinet was untenable and he should either resign voluntarily or be dropped from the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh . He also added that the ongoing probe into 2G scam should also take into consideration the decisions taken during the erstwhile NDA regime. Demanding that the Lok Pal Bill be introduced in the coming session of Parliament, he criticised the Union government for sending an objective type question paper seeking answers and not consulting the political parties in drafting the Bill . Is this the casual way in which you treat political parties, he asked. He also said that the CPI favoured the bringing in of the Prime Minister's Office and the judiciary under the ambit of the Lok Pal. He also faulted the treatment meted out by the government to social activist Anna Hazare and Yoga guru Baba Ramdev. After including five representatives of the civil society in the drafting committee, they were belittled and slanderous allegations were made against them. He lashed out at the government for the crack down against Ramdev and his supporters. He said the Left parties would carry out a relentless struggle against corruption and help unearth black money, referring to the issue of black money, raised in the past by CPI MPs Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy and Gurudas Dasgupta. Mr. Bardhan hit out at the Orissa government and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for what he termed as State vandalism against the villagers protesting against the Posco project.
Don't issue statements on wealth, BJP tells Ramdev

Special Correspondent Congress has no credibility and, therefore, no authority to probe his businesses NEW DELHI: Apparently worried that an inquiry into various business enterprises owned by Baba Ramdev could have an adverse political fallout on the campaign on corruption jointly led by the Opposition and civil society, the Bharatiya Janata Party has advised the yoga exponent not to issue statements related to his wealth or other financial transactions. Party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy criticised Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for his statement in Kolkata charging the BJP with fomenting trouble across the country. For the Congress party, he noted, all those speaking about corruption were destabilising the polity and part of some BJP-RSS led strategy. Earlier, it was Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh who had called Baba Ramdev a cheat and a thug. Now senior leader Mukherjee had joined the tirade, he said, although he was one of the Ministers who had received the Baba at the Delhi airport on June 1. It was the Congress which stood isolated on the issue of corruption. Mr. Rudy said the Congress had no credibility and, therefore, no authority or right to conduct an inquiry into the financial transactions or businesses of Baba Ramdev. The party's advice to the Baba was: Do not make any statements or give any clarifications on allegations related to your wealth and businesses. Do not answer any queries. Your devotees and the people have faith in you, Mr. Rudy said. He did not respond when asked why the party demanded and expected the government to hold inquiries into corruption charges levelled against a Suresh Kalmadi or an A. Raja when it was of the view that it had no business to do so in the case of Baba Ramdev. Separately and privately, some BJP leaders expressed satisfaction that the Baba had ended his fast. The anti-corruption movement had been hijacked from us. Now that Ramdev's fast is over, the BJP's campaign will become more effective, politically. On allegations made in the draft CAG report that Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited in its KG basin explorations had possibly inflated its gas production costs and under-estimated profits, leading to cheating of the government with which it was to share profits, Mr. Rudy said, I have not studied the allegations made and cannot respond.
Congress war on Hazare Smita Gupta reports: A day after Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, chairperson of the joint drafting committee for the Lokpal Bill, accused social activist Anna Hazare of trying to subvert democracy, the Congress described the violent language the latter was deploying against the government as un-Gandhian. To a question on the change in the tone of the government and the party, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said: We initially gave civil society groups the benefit of the doubt, but when they started taking advantage of our magnanimity and portraying it as weakness, there was a revision in our assessment. He stressed that sarkar iqbal se chalti hain (a government derives its authority from the prestige in which it is held). In a no-holds barred attack on Monday, Mr. Tewari said it appeared that Mr. Hazare was reading from a script written by the forces behind him. Shri Hazare says he doesn't belong to any political party or cultural organisation, but as soon as he ended his first hunger fast, he praised the Chief Minister of Gujarat
[the BJP's Narendra Modi] for good governance. Then he goes to Bangalore, but does not notice any corruption in the Yeddyurappa-led BJP government. Pointing out that as a member of the joint drafting committee, Mr. Hazare had an opportunity to convince the government's representatives, Mr. Tewari said: If democracy faces its greatest perils, it is from the tyranny of the unelected and the unelectable. Clearly, the UPA government and the Congress which took a beating in the week following the visit of four Union Cabinet Ministers to the airport to receive Baba Ramdev, is now determined to demonstrate that it is firmly back in the driver's seat. Within the party and the government, there had been murmurs of protest at the loss of iqbal prestige and esteem so much so that even the party magazine ran an editorial criticising the visit of the Ministers to the airport. Even though its author, Anil Shastri, was later pulled up for writing the editorial without consulting the party, the fact is that the magazine was released without any changes. Asked whether the Congress was not using unusually harsh language against Mr. Hazare, Mr. Tewari said: Constructive discourse involves restraint on both sides you can't call the sovereign government of the day a bunch of cheats and frauds: the government represents 1.2 billion people. It also shows what contempt you have for the electorate who have elected this government. Pointing out that five individuals who represented a few organisations could not claim to speak for the people, Mr. Tewari asked: What is civil society? Are the rest of us uncivil? As members of a joint committee, the views of all 10 would have to be considered.
Remember Poonam Pandey, who wanted to manifest her love for cricket in a strip- fest for our men in blue? Two videos of her on YouTube, tagged with catchwords such as Poonam Pandey ka MMS and Poonam Pandey undressing, are registering numerous hits these days. But the videos are not hot at all, as the tagline claims. The catch is, unlike what the taglines suggest, there is nothing explicit in the videos. They feature Poonam getting ready for a regular swimwear shoot. And true to form, Poonam has actually posted the links on her Twitter and Facebook pages. Could it be that she herself uploaded the videos with the provocative taglines in the first place?
New Delhi, June 16 (PTI) At a time when the country is grappling with a spate of scams, Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy has said that corruption issues has taken a toll on India''s goodwill abroad. "... the goodwill for India that exists a couple of years ago, has gotten diminished now. There is no doubt. It is absolutely clear," Murthy said in response to a question on whether issues of corruption are damaging India''s reputation abroad. In an interview to television channel NDTV Profit, Murthy, who would step down as Infosys Chairman later this year, said "there is no doubt" that India''s good will has come down globally due to corruption issues.
"... I meet on an average about 30-40 new people every month and and out of that I would say at least about a third have spoken to me on that, in other words about 10-12 people every month," Murthy, a well reputed business leader, said. Stressing that he was not criticising the country, Murthy said that these are "the facts that I have received from outside people. These are not my words or my perceptions". Murthy''s comments come at a time when there are rising concerns about corruption issues adversely impacting India''s business environment. In recent times, a spate of scams, including those related to 2G spectrum allocation and Commonwealth Games, have come to light. On the handling of the Lokpal issue, Murthy said the Government could have done a better job in dealing with the civil society demands. "... for the UPA to kind of put themselves in such a situation is sad. "I personally feel that a party led by somebody of the stature of Sonia Gandhi, or a coalition led by somebody extraordinary like Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee who is another fantastic minister, I personally feel they could have done a much better job in dealing with the demands of the civil society," he noted. Murthy said that what civil society is asking for is something good for the country. "All that they are saying is that no one should be above the law," he added.
Should the prime minister come under the purview of the Lokpal Bill? Yes, says Team Anna. No, says the government. That's one of the main reasons talks between the two broke down yesterday. The stand-off is also giving rise to another question: Is Anna Hazare asking for too much? Hopes of a consensus faded when Team Anna said two separate drafts of the proposed law against corruption were likely. In any case, it would have been unrealistic to expect the talks to go on without any hitch. One side represents politicians, and the other civil society, and they are clashing interests. (Who's civil society? P Sainath offers some definitions in his article in The Hindu today).
With the government trying to dilute the law to a point where it just becomes another piece of paper, are we going to get a Jokepal Bill, as RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal quipped yesterday? Many people are now suggesting that Anna Hazare, while being right in demanding that corruption be curbed, is being unreasonable in some ways. Sainath writes: "Pushing a coherent vision is a good thing to do. So is demanding that the government do its job. Beyond that lies trouble." The agitators and the government are also speaking different languages, and not just metaphorically. When Baba Ramdev sent the government a letter in Hindi, Tehelka reports, not one of our cabinet ministers could read it. That should give us an idea of how distant the two groups are from one another. As reports emerged that the negotiations had broken down, and that Anna Hazare would go on a hunger strike from August 16, Law Minister Veerappa Moily quickly tried to cover up the cracks, asserting that he would ensure only one draft was presented. Home Minister P Chidambaram evenpromised a draft of the bill by June 30. The government also warned Anna Hazare not to keep threatening it. Meanwhile, voices sceptical about the agitation continue to pipe up. There was Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, advising members of civil society to change their attitude to the process of law-making. No one will be surprised by Digvijay Singh's point of view, but even non-partisan observers like journalist Sainath aren't happy with the way Team Anna and Baba Ramdev have sought to lead the agitation against corruption. The award-winning author and journalist writes: "There is nothing wrong in having advisory groups. Not a thing wrong in governments consulting them and also listening to people, particularly those affected by its decisions. There is a problem when groups not constituted legally cross the line of demands, advice and rights-based, democratic agitation. When they seek to run the government and legislation no matter how well-intentioned they are." Anna has received support from an RSS ideologue. M G Vaidya writes in Open magazine: "The Lokpal has no authority to lay down policies in matters of defence or the national economy or foreign affairs. Who has ever doubted that that is the Government's prerogative? But if all was well with our hallowed Constitution, our sovereign Parliament and our powerful Government, why would there be Quattrocchis, Rajas, Kalmadis, Hasan Alis et al?" So what do you think? Should Anna push hard in the face of a government trying to scuttle his agitation with some lame law-making? Or should he accommodate their point of view and let democratic institutions do their duty? After all, we already have laws against corruption, and if the government had any intentions of implementing them, we wouldn't be here agitating for change. What guarantee do we have that another law will radically change things?
Southampton, (AFP): Chris Tremlett marked his return to the Rose Bowl with a Test-best haul to leave Sri Lanka on 177 for nine when rain forced an early close to the second day of the third and final Test on Friday. Fast bowler Tremlett took six for 42, surpassing his five for 87 against Australia in Perth in December - a match that marked his return to Test duty following a three-year absence since his debut in 2007. The 29-year-old giant quick ripped through Sri Lanka's middle and lower order with four wickets for 16 runs in 32 balls here on Friday. Nevertheless Sri Lanka's total represented a revival from the depths of 39 for four. Dilhara Fernando was 33 not out and Chanaka Welegedara seven not out when the players came off the field in a debut Test at the Rose Bowl that has been plagued by bad weather -- of the 180 overs scheduled for the first two days, only 61.2 have been bowled. Tremlett, who made his name at the Rose Bowl with southern county Hampshire before moving to Surrey last season, had helped bowl England to an innings and 14-run first Test win in Cardiff before the drawn second Test at Lord's. He's already exploited the assistance offered by a green-tinged pitch to take two for 17 in 11 overs on Thursday before Thilan Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene kept England at bay. But, after rain meant no play before lunch Friday, Samaraweera could added seven to his overnight 24 before he was dismissed in Tremlett's first over of the day. The 6ft 7in quick struck Samaraweera a painful blow on the glove with his second ball Friday and, four deliveries later, induced a loose drive straight to Kevin Pietersen in the gully to end a stand worth exactly fifty. Tremlett then had recalled all-rounder Thisara Perera out edging an intended pull to wicketkeeper Matt Prior. Sri Lanka were now 91 for six, with Tremlett having taken two wickets for two runs in seven balls. Tremlett had his five-wicket haul when Rangana Herath top-edged a pull to James Anderson at fine leg to leave Sri Lanka floundering at 117 for seven.
But, after Tremlett's spell of three for 18 in six overs, Stuart Broad was unable to follow-up, the seam-bowling all-rounder too often harmlessly short. Prasanna Jayawardene, who made a century in the first Test, repelled England's attack with several stylish shots on his way to 43. But England captain Andrew Strauss saw his move in bringing on Graeme Swann vindicated by just the offspinner's second ball, which Prasanna Jayawardene slog-swept straight to Eoin Morgan at deep midwicket. Prasanna Jayawardene, in for nearly three hours, helped Fernando add 41 for the eighth wicket - runs that could yet prove valuable - before Tremlett's first ball back saw Suranga Lakmal caught behind for a duck.
A herbal delight!
Herbs & spices from your kitchen can perk up your sex life
44 Comments Like that(15) Send Share Print Posted By Mailtoday, Tuesday 21 June 2011 5:21 PM IST
IT NOT just spices up your curries, but also punches up your sex life. Researchers have found that fenugreek or methi can increase the sex drive by a quarter, according to a report in the Daily Mail. When libido levels of 60 healthy men aged between 25 and 52 who took an extract of the herb were checked, it was found that their scores were much higher than those who took dummy pills.
Six Foods to Help you Have Great Sex | Bring back the romanceThe tests were carried out by the Centre for Integrative Clinical and Molecular Medicine in Brisbane, Australia. Fenugreek seeds contain compounds called saponins which are said to stimulate the production of male sex hormones including testosterone. The local grocery store or even your household kitchen can prove to be the best apothecary for shooting up the sexual drive, as supplying the right food to the brain can turn you on. For example, the ubiquitous spices likeblack pepper, chilly pepper, cumin, fennel, flax seeds, and turmeric powder can work wonders for distraught couples. These and other herbs can stimulate the libido, perking up peoples sex lives. Experts have since long suggested the use of Chinese herbs such as Ginseng a sexual stimulant and native African Kola nuts known to be great energy boosters among others. These herbal aphrodisiacs are most sought after, as they are cheap, effective and have minimal side effects.
Sex tips for busy people
Studies have also shown that a diet which includes soy can raise the temperature in the bedroom as soy is beneficial to the prostate a very important male sex organ. A food rich in granola, oatmeal, cashews, walnuts, garlic and onion, can lead to improved blood circulation, also boosting the male sex drive. Even a diet rich in iron and zinc can prove helpful for those having a tough night life. Many experts say that an unhealthy supply of Vitamin E can affect the sexual function as well. A diet rich in dopamine can lead to greater results. Dopamine is a feel good chemical released by the brain. It motivates people to pursue pleasure and have sex.
Also, fish, legumes, cottage cheese, red meat, milk, beetroots and peas if included in the diet, can increase the sexual stamina. Ayurvedic experts have their own dose of suggestions. Tribulus, Sarsaparilla, Siberian Ginseng, Saw Palmetto are herbal plants which have a proven record of increasing the sex drive, according to them. Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2011. MTNPL. All rights reserved. Related reads on Love & Sex: Why regular lovemaking is good for your health Hot on Love & Sex:
Submissive fantasies turn me on, but my partner wouldn't understand if I told him My girlfriend expects me to do everything in bed and I'm losing my desire How you can perk up your sex life Sex tips for busy professionals
Adidas
This article is about the company. For the song by Korn, see A.D.I.D.A.S..
This article may require cleaning up to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. The talk pagemay contain suggestions. (November 2010) (Consider using more specific clean up instructions.)
Adidas AG
Type
Aktiengesellschaft
Traded as
FWB: ADS,Pink Sheets: ADDYY
Industry
Clothing and consumer goodsmanufacture
Founded
1924 as Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik (registered in 1949)[1]
Founder(s)
Adolf Dassler
Headquarters
Herzogenaurach, Germany
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Herbert Hainer (CEO) Robin Stalker (CFO) Erich Stamminger (CEO, Adidas Brand) Igor Landau (Chairman of thesupervisory
board)
Products
Footwear, sportswear, sports equipment, toiletries
Revenue
11.99 billion (2010)[2]
Operating
894 million (2010)[2]
income
Profit
567 million (2010)[2]
Total assets
10.62 billion (end 2010)[2]
Total equity
4.616 billion (end 2010)[2]
Employees
42,540 (end 2010)[2]
Website
adidas-group.com
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, golf company (including Ashworth), and Rockport. Besides sports footwear, the company also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear, and other sportsand clothing-related goods. The company is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europeand the secondbiggest sportswear manufacturer in the world, with American rival Nike being the biggest.[3] Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf "Adi" Dassler, following the split of Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brotherRudolf. Rudolf later established Puma, which was the early rival of Adidas. Registered in 1949, Adidas is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, along with Puma. The company's clothing and shoe designs typically feature three parallel bars, and the same motif is incorporated into Adidas's current official logo. The "Three Stripes" were bought from the Finnish sport company Karhu Sports in 1951.[4][5] The company revenue for 2009 was listed at 10.38 billion and the 2008 figure at 10.80 billion.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
1.1 Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik
1.2 Company split 1.3 The Tapie affair
1.4 PostTapie era
2 Products
2.1 Running 2.2 Football (soccer)
2.3 Tennis 2.4 Golf 2.5 Cricket 2.6 Basketball 2.7 Lacrosse 2.8 Rugby 2.9 Gymnastics 2.10 Skateboardin g
2.11 Accessories
3 Marketing
3.1 Game advertisement
3.2 Sponsorship
4 Corporate information
4.1 Current executive board
4.2 Former management
4.3 Financial information
5 Criticism 6 See also
7 Notes 8 References 9 External links
[edit]History [edit]Gebrder
Dassler Schuhfabrik
A pair of Adidas Samba football trainers.
Adolf "Adi" Dassler started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria after his return fromWorld War I. On July 1, 1924, his brother Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler joined the business, which became Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) and prospered. The pair started the venture in their mother's laundry,[6]:5 but, at the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.[7] By the 1936 Summer Olympics, Adi Dassler drove from Bavaria on one of the world's first motorways to the Olympic village with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. Following Owens's haul of four gold medals, his success cemented the good reputation of Dassler shoes among the world's most famous sportsmen. Letters from around the world landed on the brothers' desks, and the trainers of other national teams were all interested in their shoes. Business boomed and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before World War II.[8] Late in World War II, the shoe factory shifted to production of the Panzerschreck anti-tank weapon.[9]
[edit]Company
split
Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party. During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached a breaking point after an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in: "The dirty bastards are back again," Adi said, referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family.[10] After Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.[7] The brothers split up in 1947,[11] with
Rudi forming a new firm that he called Ruda from Rudolf Dassler, later rebranded Puma and Adi forming a company formally registered as adidas AG from Adi Dassler on 18 August 1949. The acronym All Day I Dream About Sport, although sometimes considered the origin of the adidas name, was applied retroactively, which makes it a backronym. The name is actually a portmanteau formed from "Adi" (a nickname for Adolf) and "Das" (from "Dassler").[1]
[edit]The
Tapie affair
Bernard Tapie, a former Frenchbusinessman who once owned Adidas but has since relinquished his control over the company due to debt
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After a period of trouble following the death of Adolf Dassler's son Horst Dassler in 1987, the company was bought in 1989 by French industrialist Bernard Tapie, for 1.6 billion (now 243.918 million), which Tapie borrowed. Tapie was at the time a famous specialist of rescuingbankrupt companies, an expertise on which he built his fortune.
Tapie decided to move production offshore to Asia. He also hired Madonna for promotion. He sent, from Christchurch, New Zealand, a shoe sales representative to Germany and met Adolf Dassler's descendants (Amelia Randall Dassler and Bella Beck Dassler) and was sent back with a few items to promote the company there. In 1992, unable to pay the loan interest, Tapie mandated the Crdit Lyonnais bank to sell Adidas, and the bank subsequently converted the outstanding debt owed into equity of the enterprise, which was unusual as per the prevalent French banking practice. The state-owned bank had tried to get Tapie out of dire financial straits as a personal favour to Tapie, it is reported, because Tapie was Minister of Urban Affairs (ministre de la Ville) in the French government at the time. In February 1993, Crdit Lyonnais sold Adidas to Robert Louis-Dreyfus, a friend of Bernard Tapie for a much higher amount of money than what Tapie owed, 4.485 billion (683.514 million) francs rather than 2.85 billion (434.479 million). Tapie later sued the bank, because he felt "spoiled" by the indirect sale.[citation needed] Robert Louis-Dreyfus became the new CEO of the company. He was also the president of Olympique de Marseille, a team Tapie had owned until 1993.[citation needed] Tapie filed for personal bankruptcy in 1994. He was the object of several lawsuits, notably related to match fixing at the football club. During 1997, he served 6 months of an 18-month prison sentence in La Sant prison in Paris. In 2005, French courts awarded Tapie a 135 million compensation (about 886 million francs).[citation
needed]
[edit]PostTapie
era
An Adidas casual shoe, with the company's distinctive three parallel bars
In 1994, combined with FIFA Youth Group, SOS Children's Villages became the main beneficiary. In 1997, Adidas AG acquired the Salomon Group who specialized in ski wear, and its official corporate name was changed to Adidas-Salomon AG because with this acquisition Adidas also acquired the Taylormade Golf company and Maxfli, which allowed them to compete with Nike Golf.
In 1998, Adidas sued the NCAA over their rules limiting the size and number of commercial logos on team uniforms and apparel. Adidas withdrew the suit, and the two groups established guidelines as to what threestripe designs would be considered uses of the Adidas trademark. In 2003, Adidas filed a lawsuit in a British court challenging Fitness World Trading's use of a two-stripe motif similar to Adidas's three stripes. The court ruled that despite the simplicity of the mark, Fitness World 's use was infringing because the public could establish a link between that use and Adidas's mark.[12] In September 2004, top English fashion designer Stella McCartney launched a joint-venture line with Adidas, establishing a long-term partnership with the corporation. This line is a sports performance collection for women called "Adidas by Stella McCartney",[13] and it has been critically acclaimed.[14] Also in 2005, on 3 May, Adidas told the public that they sold their partner company Salomon Group for 485m to Amer Sports of Finland.
Wikinews has related news:German Adidas buys American Reebok
In August 2005, Adidas declared its intention to buy British rival Reebok for $3.8 billion (US). This takeover was completed with partnership in January 2006[1] and meant that the company will have business sales closer to those of Nike in North America. The acquisition of Reebok will also allow Adidas to compete with Nike worldwide as the number two athletic shoemaker in the world.[15] Adidas has global corporate headquarters in Germany, and many other business locations around the world such as Portland OR, Hong Kong, Toronto, Taiwan, England, Japan, Australia, and Spain. Mainly sold in the U.S., Adidas makes lots of assets from these countries and is expanding to more oversea countries. In 2005, Adidas introduced the Adidas 1, the first ever production shoe to utilize a microprocessor. Dubbed by the company "The World's First Intelligent Shoe", it features a microprocessor capable of performing 5 million calculations per second that automatically adjusts the shoe's level of cushioning to suit its environment. The shoe requires a small, user-replaceable battery that lasts for approximately 100 hours of running. On 25 November 2005, Adidas released a new version of the Adidas 1 with an increased range of cushioning, allowing the shoe to become softer or firmer, and a new motor with 153 percent more torque.[citation needed] On 11 April 2006, Adidas announced an 11-year deal to become the official NBA apparel provider. They will make NBA, NBDL, and WNBA jerseys and products as well as team-coloured versions of the "Superstar" basketball shoe. This deal (worth over $400 million) takes the place of the previous 10-year Reebok deal that was put in place in 2001.
[edit]Products [edit]Running
A pair of Adidas Response Cushion 18running trainers.
Adidas currently manufactures several running shoes, including the adiStar Salvation 2, the adiStar Ride 3 (the replacement for the adiStar Cushion 6), the Supernova Sequence 3 (the replacement for the Supernova Control 10), and the Supernova Glide 3, among others. In addition, their performance apparel is widely used by runners. Adidas also uses kangaroo leather to make their more expensive shoes.[16][17]
[edit]Football
(soccer)
One of the main focuses of Adidas is football kit and associated equipment. Adidas remain a major company in the supply of team kits for international football teams. Adidas also makes referee kits that are used in international competition and by many countries and leagues in the world. The company has been an innovator in the area of footwear for the sport, with notable examples including development of the Copa Mundial moulded boot used for matches on firm dry pitches for almost forty years. The studded equivalent was named World Cup follow in celebration of the 1978 tournament won by Argentina, one of the nations it supplied at the time. Some of the most famous football teams are currently sponsored by Adidas. Adidas became renowned for advancing the Predator boot design developed by ex-Liverpool and Australian international player Craig Johnston. This design featured a ribbed rubber structure for the upper leather of the shoe, used to accent the movement of the ball when struck; highly skilled players claimed they were able to curve the flight of the ball more easily when wearing this new contoured design.[citation needed] The Predator also features the Craig Johnston-invented Traxion sole. FIFA, the world governing body of football, commissioned specially designed footballs for use in its own World Cup tournaments to favour more attacking play. The balls supplied for the2006 World Cup, the Teamgeist,
were particular noteworthy for their ability to travel further than previous types when struck, leading to longer range goal strikes that were intended to increase the number of goals scored. Goalkeepers were believed to be less comfortable with the design, claiming it would move significantly and unpredictably in flight. Adidas also introduced another new ball for the 2010 World Cup. The Jabulani ball was designed and developed by Loughborugh University in conjunction with Chelsea FC. It received much criticism from players, managers and pundits for being too hard to control. The lighter and more aerodynamic ball led to many shots and passes being over hit. The Jabulani was widely blamed for the low numbers of long range goals or even remotely accurate attempts in the opening stage of the tournament. As well as the aforementioned Predator boot, adidas also manufacture the F50 and adiPure range of football boots. Adidas also provides apparel and equipment for all teams in Major League Soccer.
[edit]Tennis
Professional tennis player Andy Murray.
Adidas has sponsored tennis players and recently introduced a new line of tennis racquets. While the Feather is made for the "regular player", and the Response for the "club player", Adidas targets the "tournament player" with the 12.2 oz Barricade tour model.[18] Adidas sponsors the following professional players with mainly clothing apparel and footwear: Ana Ivanovi, Andy Murray, Maria Kirilenko, Caroline Wozniacki,Justine
Henin, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Daniela Hantuchov, Alicia Molik, Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Simon, Fernando Gonzlez, Flavia Pennetta,Laura Robson, Melanie Oudin, and Sorana Crstea. Adidas tennis apparel contains the ClimaCool technology found in other athletic jerseys and shoes.[19] In November 2009 World Number 4 Andy Murray was confirmed as Adidas's highest paid star with a 5 year contract reported to be worth $24.5m.[20] Players sponsored by Adidas can take advantage of the Adidas Player Improvement Program, where the company provides coaches, fitness trainers and sports psychologists to players in order to further their careers. The program includes legendary coaches such as Darren Cahilland Sven Groeneveld. In Cincinnati, at the ATP Tennis Tournament in Mason, they have also sponsored the ball-boy and ballgirl uniforms.
[edit]Golf
adidasGolf is part of adidas, a German-based sports apparel manufacturer and part of the adidas Group, which consists of Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-adidas golf company, and Rockport. The adidas Group is one of the global leaders in the sporting goods industry offering a wide range of products around the three core segments of adidas, Reebok, and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. adidasGolf sells and manufactures adidasbrand golf apparel, footwear, and accessories. Company Timeline: In 1997, Adidas AG acquired the Salomon Group who specialized in alpine ski wear, and its official corporate name was changed to adidas-Salomon AG because with this acquisition Adidas also acquired the TaylorMade Golf company and Maxfli, which allowed them to compete with Nike Golf. Salomon sold its controlling interest in TaylorMade and its other sports equipment companies to global giant Adidas AG. In 1998, Adidas Golf USA moved its business operations from Tualatin, Oregon, to the Carlsbad, California headquarters of TaylorMade Golf, acquired by adidas-Salomon. adidasGolf USA had 30 employees to relocate. Carlsbad is also the headquarters of one of its primary competitors, Callaway Golf Company. In 1999, TaylorMade and AdidasGolf USA, were merged into a new companycalled TaylorMade-Adidas Golf with world headquarters in Carlsbad. Mark King was named president of the company he had begun his career with in 1981 as a sales representative after a short stint as vice president of sales and marketing at Callaway Golf Ball Co. in 1998. In November 2008, Ashworth (clothing) became a wholly owned subsidiary of TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, complementary to the synthetic performance fabrics of Adidas Golf. Product:
Adidas Golf sells apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth. Mens equipment includes footwear, shirts, shorts, pants, outerwear, base layer and eyewear. Womens equipment includes footwear, shirts, shorts, skirts, pants, outerwear, base layers, and eyewear. Youth equipment includes both boys and girls footwear, apparel, and eyewear.
[edit]Cricket
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, batting with his personalized Adidas Bat.
In the 1990s, Adidas signed world's iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar of India and made shoes for him.
[21]
Tendulkar continues to wear Adidas shoes while playing matches. Since 2008, Adidas has sponsored the
cricket bat used by Sachin Tendulkar. It created a new cricket bat, 'Adidas Master Blaster', personalized for him. In 2008, Adidas made their move into English cricket market by sponsoring English batting star Kevin Pietersen after the cancellation of his lifetime deal with Woodworm, when they ran into financial difficulties.
[22]
The following year they signed up fellow England player Ian Bell,Pakistan opening batsman Salman
Butt and Indian Player Ravindra Jadeja. Having made cricket footwear for many years, the company finally entered the field of bat manufacture in 2008 and their products are available in the Incurza, Pellara and Libro ranges.This bat is worth over 1000. Adidas also manufactures the uniforms worn by both the England cricket team and the Australian cricket team. Adidas signed partnership withCricket South Africa in 2011 and the uniforms worn by South African Cricket Team during and after Cricket World Cup 2011 will be manufactured by Adidas.[23] They also sponsored the South Korea national cricket team. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adidas are the official apparel sponsor for the teams Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors India.[24][25]
[edit]Basketball
Adidas has been a longtime basketball shoe manufacturer and is one of the leading basketball brands in the world. They are most famous for their iconic Superstar and Pro Model shoes, affectionately known as "shelltoes" for their stylized hard rubber toe box. These were made very popular in the 1980s hip hop streetwear scene alongside Adidas' stripe-sided polyester suits. Adidas is also the current outfitter of all 30 franchises in the National Basketball Association (replacing the Reebok brand after the merger) and sponsors numerous players past and present like Kareem AbdulJabbar and Tracy McGrady, as well as Dwight Howard, Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Michael Beasley, Josh Smith and Tim Duncan. Adidas used to endorse Kobe Bryant with the Adidas Equipment KB8 as his first signature shoe, and stopped endorsing him in 2003. The company also endorsed Kevin Garnett, until he opted out of his contract in 2010; he is currently endorsing Anta. Lebron James also wore Adidas at high school. Now he endorses Nike to date. Gilbert Arenas was an Adidas endorser until the now-infamous gun incident last season; he is currently un-endorsed.
[edit]Lacrosse
In 2007, Adidas announced the future production of lacrosse equipment, and will sponsor the Adidas National Lacrosse Classic in July 2008 for the top 600 high school underclassmen lacrosse players in the United States.
[26]
[edit]Rugby
All Blacks rugby jersey
Adidas make rugby balls and other rugby gear. They are the current kit and ball supplier to the New Zealand All Blacks, Irish Munster Rugby, the Argentinian Pumas, and the South African Stormers and Western Province rugby union teams among others. Adidas are also the official match ball supplier to the Heineken Cup.
[edit]Gymnastics
Since 2000, adidas has provided men's and women's gymnastics wear for Team USA, through USA Gymnastics. In 2006, Adidas gymnastics leatards for women and adidas mens comp shirts, gymnastics pants and gymnastics shorts have been available in the USA, with seasonal leotards offered for Spring, Summer, Fall and Holidays. Starting in 2009, Adidas gymnastics wear has been available worldwide through GK Elite Sportswear.[27]
[edit]Skateboarding
Adidas SB (Skateboarding) are shoes made specifically for skateboarding. Many of the shoes Adidas previously made were redesigned for skateboarding. Adidas Skateboarding also has a skateboarding team. The team consists of: Mark Gonzales, Dennis Busenitz, Tim O'Connor, Silas Baxter-Neal, Pete Eldridge, Benny Fairfax, Lucas Puig, Nester Judkins, Lem Villemin,Vince Del Valle and Jake Brown.
[edit]Accessories
Adidas also designs and makes sandals, watches, eyewear, bags, baseball caps, and socks.
Adidas Fresh Impact Limited Edition
As well, Adidas has a branded range of male and female deodorants, perfumes, aftershave and lotions.
[edit]Marketing
Adidas, like other sports brands, is believed to engender high consumer brand loyalty. Brand loyalty towards Adidas, Nike, Inc., Puma AG and several other sportswear brands was examined in a recent study.[28] The study found consumers did not exhibit unduly high loyalty towards such brands. During the mid to late 1990s, Adidas divided the brand into three main groups with each a separate focus: Adidas Performance was designed to maintain their devotion to the athlete; Adidas Originals was designed to focus on fashion and life-style; and Style Essentials, with the main group within this one being Y3. "Impossible is Nothing" is the current mainstream marketing slogan for Adidas. This campaign was developed by 180/TBWA based in Amsterdam but also with significant work being done by TBWA/Chiat/Day in San Francisco particularly for its basketball campaign "Believe In Five".TBWA\Chiat\Day commissioned Zane Peach[29] to produce images for 2007 international ad campaign.
[edit]Game
advertisement
The brand is featured in several games. Amiga|Commodore Amiga: Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge Sony Playstation: Adidas power soccer Commodore 64, ZX spectrum, Amstrad CPC: Adidas Championship Football
[edit]Sponsorship This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)
Main article: List of Adidas sponsorships Adidas is a major domestic (within Germany) and international sports and events sponsor. During the last number of years, the Group has increased its marketing and sponsorshipbudget.[30] Adidas is a key sponsor and supplier to the National Basketball Association (NBA). The company recently unveiled a new NBA game jersey to be worn by all NBA players in games beginning in the 20102011 season. Adidas are the main sponsor and kit supplier of the highly successful New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks. Adidas also are the kit supplier to the Los Pumas, the Eagles, the Irish professional rugby union team, Munster Rugby and the French professional rugby union club, Stade Franais. Adidas also sponsors and produces apparel for the rugby league club Gold Coast Titans in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) competition. In cricket, the company are the main and kit sponsors sponsors of the successful Australian Cricket Team and the England Cricket Team. They are also the main sponsors of the Indiancricketers Sachin
Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and English cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell. They are sponsors of the Indian Premier League teams Delhi Daredevils andMumbai Indians. Adidas is the longstanding kit provider to the Germany national football team, a sponsorship that began in 1954 and is contracted to continue until at least 2018. Adidas also sponsors the Argentine, Japanese, Mexican, Scottish, Spanish and Colombian national football teams, among others.[31] Adidas are very active at sponsoring top football clubs such as R.S.C. Anderlecht, Wisa Krakw, Rapid Vienna, Real Madrid, Aberdeen F.C., AC Milan, Dynamo Kyiv, Metalist, Partizan Belgrade, Chelsea, , Palmeiras , Fluminense , Bayern Munich, Rosenborg BK, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City F.C., Lyon, Marseille, AFC Ajax, Schalke 04, Galatasaray, Benfica,River Plate, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, Beikta, Fenerbahe, UANL Tigres, Panathinaikos, South Melbourne FC, IFK Gteborg, Zamalek SC, Al-Ahly, Al-Hilal, Ahli Jeddah, Caracas, Universidad de Chile, Los Millonarios, Beitar Jerusalem F.C., Albirex Niigata, Atltico Nacional and C.D. Guadalajara. Adidas is the apparel partner of the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League. Adidas and Major League Soccer (MLS) announced a 8-year sponsorship agreement in August 2010 that will continue to make Adidas the official athletic sponsor and licensed product supplier for the league, and to work together to expand the developmental league for MLS through 2018.[32] Adidas also sponsors events such as the London Marathon and Adidas Sundown Marathon in Singapore.[33] In the 1980s, Adidas sponsored rap group Run-D.M.C., a breakthrough idea. For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Adidas spent 70 million sponsoring the event, amid criticisms.[34] Adidas has also been marketing in NASCAR, sponsoring big name drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart.
[edit]Corporate [edit]Current
information
executive board
CEO Adidas-group: Herbert Hainer Finance Adidas-group: Robin J. Stalker CEO Adidas brand: Erich Stamminger Global Operations Adidas-group: Glenn S. Bennett
[edit]Former
management
CEO (19932002): Robert Louis-Dreyfus.
[edit]Financial
information
Financial data in millions of euros[2]
Year
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Sales
10,0 84
10,2 99
10,7 99
10,3 81
11,9 90
EBITDA
1,07 8
1,16 5
1,28 0
780
1,15 9
Net results
483
551
642
245
567
Net debt
2,23 1
1,76 6
2,18 9
917
221
[edit]Criticism
As with the majority of prolific brand-based transnationals, Adidas' business practises/ethics and commitment to worker welfare have been scrutinised and often criticised.[35][36]
[edit]See
also
Companies portal
List of swimwear brands
[edit]Notes
1. ^ a b c "Adidas Group History". Adidas-group.com. Retrieved 2010-09-26. 2. ^ a b c d e f g "Annual Report 2010". Adidas. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 3. ^ "Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Infineon: German Equity Preview". Bloomberg L.P.. 16 January 2008.
Retrieved 2008-01-26.
4. ^ Smit, Barbara (2007). Pitch Invasion, Adidas, Puma and the making of modern sport. Penguin.
p. 44. ISBN 0-14-102368-6.
5. ^ Simon Chadwick, Dave Arthur (2007). International cases in the business of sport. ButterworthHeinemann. p. 438. ISBN 0-7506-8543-3.
6. ^ Smit, Barbara (2009). Sneaker Wars. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-124658-6. 7. ^ a b James, Kyle. "The Town that Sibling Rivalry Built, and Divided | Business | Deutsche Welle |
03.07.2006". Dw-world.de. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
8. ^ "How Adidas and PUMA were born". in.rediff.com. 2005-11-08. Retrieved 2010-09-26.[dead link] 9. ^ "The Prehistory of Adidas and Puma; ''Spiegel''". Spiegel.de. Retrieved 2010-09-26. 10. ^ Esterl, Mike (2008-03-21). Review of "Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and
PUMA and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sport", Barbara Smit, March 2008, ISBN 978-0-06-124657-9. online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
11. ^ Esterl, Mike (2008-03-21). Review of "Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded adidas and
Puma and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sport", Barbara Smit, March 2008, ISBN 978-0-06-124657-9. online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
12. ^ Adidas told its three stripes don't constitute a trademark at The Guardian 13. ^ "Stella McCartney collection". Adidas.com. Retrieved 2010-09-26. 14. ^ Stella McCartney Biography at Internet Movie Database 15. ^ "AOL.com". Aolsvc.news.aol.com. Retrieved 2010-09-26. 16. ^ "SaveTheKangaroo.com" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-09-26. 17. ^ "Kangaroos on Track to extinction?". youtube.com. Retrieved 2010-09-26. 18. ^ Tennis-warehouse.com 19. ^ "Adidas tennis". Adidas.com. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 20. ^ "Andy Murray signs head-to-toe deal with Adidas". SportsProMedia. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 21. ^ "Brand Tendulkar will never lose value". Indianexpress.com. 2006-05-05. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 22. ^ Pringle, Derek (October 16, 2008). "Kevin Pietersen snaps up lucrative bat deal after the demise of
Woodworm". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
23. ^ "Pure Proteas - Adidas South Africa". Adidas.com. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 24. ^ "Indiatimes - The Economic Times, March 2nd 2011". Articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com. 2011-0302. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
25. ^ Agencies. "Pune warriors sign uniform sponsorship deal with Adidas". expressindia.com. Retrieved 201105-06.
26. ^ "Level 2 Sports Home". Adidasnationallacrosseclassic.com. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 27. ^ "Adidas gymnastics". Gkelite.com. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 28. ^ Dawes, J. "Brand Loyalty in the UK Sporswear Market." International Journal of Market Research, Vol 51,
No. 1 2009.
29. ^ "Mark Wolfe Contemporary Art". Wolfecontemporary.com. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 30. ^ "Adidas Group 2010 Outlook". Adidas Group. 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 31. ^ "Islam Feruz called up to U17 squad".ScottishFA.co.uk. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2009-10-12. 32. ^ [1][dead link] 33. ^ "Adidas Sundown Marathon". yoursingapore.com. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 34. ^ "Adidas Chief Criticizes Anti-China Protestors". Der Spiegel. 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 35. ^ "Tyee Homepage". Thetyee.ca. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2010-09-26. 36. ^ "News & Views". Common Dreams. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
[edit]References
"Adidas Golf USA moves to Carlsbad; Adidas faces legal suit". Sports Business Daily. August 19, 1998. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
"Taylor Made Golf Co". FundingUniverse. Retrieved 22 October 2010. Freeman, Mike (August 19, 1999). "Taylor, Adidas merge, reshuffle". The San Diego Union-Tribune: p. C.1. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
Ward, Denise T. (May 14, 2001). "Profile: Mark King, Taylor Made For His Job". San Diego Business Journal. Archived from the original on ?. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
[edit]External
links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Adidas
Official website
Adidas brand website

[hide]v d e
DAX companies of Germany
Adidas Allianz BASF Bayer Beiersdorf BMW Commerzbank Daimler Deutsche Bank Deutsche Brse Deutsche Post Deutsche Telekom E.ON
Care HeidelbergCement Henkel Infineon Technologies K+S Linde Lufthansa MAN Merck METRO Munich Re RWE SAP Siemens Thyssen
Categories: Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange | Companies listed on the Pink Sheets | Adidas | 1980s fashion | Adidas brands | Clothing retailers of Germany |Clothing brands of Germany | Companies established in 1924 | Economy of Bavaria | German brands | Herzogenaurach | Shoe brands | Shoe companies of Germany | Sporting goods manufacturers of Germany | Sportswear brands | Swimwear manufacturers
Reebok
Reebok Limited
Type
Subsidiary of Adidas
[1]
Industry
Sports equipment
Founded
Bolton, England (1895)
Headquarters
Canton, Massachusetts, US
Area served
Worldwide
Products
Sportswear, Footwear
Parent
Adidas
Website
http://reebok.com
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. In 1890 in Holcombe Brook, a small village 6 miles north east of Bolton, England, Joseph William Foster was making a living producing regular running shoes when he came up with the idea to create a novelty spiked running shoe. After his ideas progressed he joined with his sons, and founded a shoe company named J.W. Foster and Sons in 1895.[2] In 1960, two of the founder's grandsons Joe and Jeff Foster renamed the company Reebok in England, having found the name in a dictionary won in a race by Joe Foster as a boy; the dictionary was South African edition hence the spelling.[3] The company lived up to the J.W. Foster legacy, manufacturing first-class footwear for customers throughout the UK. In 1979, Paul Fireman, a US sporting goods distributor, saw a pair of Reeboks at an international trade show and negotiated to sell them in North America.[2]
Contents
[hide]
1 Human rights and production details 2 Endorsements
2.1 Freestyle and Ex-O-Fit success
2.2 North America 2.3 CCM 2.4 Europe 2.5 Australia 2.6 India 2.7 Outside sport
3 Sponsorships
3.1 American football
3.1.1 Teams 3.1.2 Players
3.2 Australian football
3.2.1 Teams
3.3 Baseball
3.3.1 Teams
3.4 Basketball
3.4.1 Players
3.5 Boxing
3.5.1 Boxers
3.6 Cricket
3.6.1 National teams
3.6.2 Club teams 3.6.3 Players
3.7 Football club teams
3.7.1 Africa 3.7.2 Americas 3.7.3 Asia 3.7.4 Europe 3.7.5 Oceania
3.8 Football players 3.9 Formula One 3.10 Ice Hockey 3.11 Lacrosse 3.12 Rugby League 3.13 Rugby Union 3.14 Track and Field 3.15 Other sportsmen sponsored
3.16 Former sponsorships
3.16.1 Basketball
3.16.2 Colleges 3.16.3 Football national teams
3.16.4 Football club teams
3.16.5 Rugby union teams
3.17 Tennis
4 Recent news 5 See also 6 References 7 External links
[edit]Human
rights and production details
Reebok world headquarters in Canton
In the past, Reebok had an association with outsourcing through sweatshops, but today it claims it is committed to human rights. In April 2004, Reebok's footwear division became the first company to be accredited by the Fair Labor Association. In 2004, Reebok also became a founding member of the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving worker conditions across the apparel industry. Supplier information, according to the Reebok website as of May 2007: "Footwear Reebok uses footwear factories in 14 countries. Most factories making Reebok footwear are based in Asia primarily China (accounting for 51% of total footwear production), Indonesia (21%), Vietnam (17%)
and Thailand (7%). Production is consolidated, with 88% of Reebok footwear manufactured in 11 factories, employing over 75,000 workers. "Apparel Reebok has factories in 45 countries. The process of purchasing products from suppliers is organized by region. Most (52%) of Reebok's apparel sold in the United States is produced in Asia, with the rest coming from countries in the Caribbean, North America, Africa and the Middle East. Apparel sold in Europe is typically sourced from Asia and Europe. Apparel sold in the Asia Pacific region is typically produced by Asian-based manufacturers.
[edit]Endorsements [edit]Freestyle
and Ex-O-Fit success
Reebok EX-O-FIT Original Years 80s
1985 Freestyle and Ex-O-Fit hi-tops advertisement Reebok surged in popularity in 1982 after the introduction of the Freestyle athletic shoe, which was specifically designed for women and came out when the aerobics fitness craze started. Reebok Freestyle was popular not only as athletic wear but also on the streets as casual wear because of its comfort and styling. As a result, the Freestyle became an icon of the 1980s fashion scene with hi-top versions (including two velcro straps at the top) and colors including white, black, red, yellow, and blue. Reebok continues to produce the Freestyle to this day, as it is popular with cheerleading, aerobic dancing, the gym, and other consumers. Following the height of the Freestyle success, Reebok also introduced a popular athletic shoe for men, called the Ex-O-Fit. Similar to the Freestyle, it came in low-top and hi-top versions; however, unlike the Freestyle hitop with two velcro closure straps, the Ex-O-Fit only had one strap. One of the designers of this early footwear was the founder's son, David Foster. .
[edit]North
America
The company holds exclusive rights to manufacture and market both authentic and replica uniform jerseys and sideline apparel of the teams of the National Football League (NFL) since 2002 (marketed as NFL Equipment),
the Canadian Football League (CFL) since 2004, and is the official shoe supplier to the NFL and Major League Baseball (MLB). The company also holds sponsorships with Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro, Internacional, and So Paulo FC; and German club FC Kln for the 200809 season. Reebok will stop sponsoring Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara before the Apertura 2011 season. Parent Company Adidas will take over as sponsor.
[edit]CCM
Logo of Sidney CrosbyRbk SC87 line by Reebok
In addition, Reebok acquired official National Hockey League (NHL) sponsor CCM in 2004, and is now manufacturing ice hockey equipment under the CCM and Reebok brands, and has signed popular young stars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin to endorsement deals (Crosby for Reebok, Ovechkin for CCM). Reebok has phased out the CCM name on NHL authentic and replica jerseys in recent years, using the Reebok logo since 2005. However, recently Reebok has been making vintage jerseys (like the 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs blue jerseys shown here [4])under the CCM name. Reebok is also endorsed by Lewis Hamilton, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, Carolina Klft, Amlie Mauresmo, Nicole Vaidiov, Shahar Pe'er, Ivy, Thierry Henry,Vince Young, Iker Casillas, Ryan Giggs, Andriy Shevchenko, and Amir Khan.
[edit]Europe
The Reebok Stadium in Horwich, Bolton
The company maintains its relationship with its origins in the UK through a long-term sponsorship deal with Bolton Wanderers, a Premier League football club. When the team moved to a brand new ground in the late-1990s, their new home was named the Reebok Stadium. Several other English clubs had Reebok sponsorship deals up until the purchase by Adidas, but most have since switched to either the parent brand (which has a long history in football) or another company altogether. In rugby union, Reebok sponsored the Wales national team until late 2008, who won the Grand Slam in the Six Nations Championship in that year, and the Tasman Makos in New Zealand's domestic competition, the Air New Zealand Cup. In 2006, FC Barcelona and France striker Thierry Henry (then playing for Arsenal) signed a deal to join the "I Am What I Am" campaign on 1 August 2006. Ryan Giggs has also done "I Am What I Am" commercials. Also, on 1 August, Andriy Shevchenko started his endorsement deal with the company.[5]
[edit]Australia
In 2005, Reebok also signed an exclusive agreement to design and supply all eight team home and away strips for the new Australian A-League competition. Although not an expensive deal, this partnership is paying dividends for Reebok, due to the growing popularity of football and the league in the area. An estimated 125,000 jerseys have been sold in Australia, a record for a single league's sales in a year for a sports manufacturer.[6] Reebok sponsors four teams in the Australian Football League, those being the Gold Coast Suns, the Melbourne Football Club, the Port Adelaide Football Club and the Richmond Football Club. Reebok sponsors the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.
Reebok advertisement in Basel
[edit]India
Reebok sponsored kits for Indian Premier League teams, such as the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royalsand Chennai Super Kings in the first edition of the league held in 2008. However, for the second edition held in 2009, the sponsorships includedRoyal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab kits.
[edit]Outside
sport
Rapper Jay-Z became the first non-athlete to get a signature shoe from Reebok. The "S. Carter Collection by Rbk" was launched on 21 November 2003 and the S. Carter sneaker became the fastest-selling shoe in the company's history.[7] Later, Reebok made a deal with rapper50 Cent to release a line of G-Unit sneakers and artists like Nelly and Miri Ben-Ari have become spokespersons for the company. Reebok also signed Scarlett Johansson and introduced her own line of apparel and footwear called Scarlett Hearts, an Rbk Lifestyle Collection. Reebok also produce shoes for Emporio Armani under the label EA7. These shoes are marketed to the high-end fashion market.
[edit]Sponsorships [edit]American [edit]Teams
football
CFL all teams NFL all teams (until 2011)
[edit]Players
Chad Ochocinco Peyton Manning
Matt Hasselbeck Eli Manning
[edit]Australian [edit]Teams
football
Adelaide Gold Coast
[edit]Baseball [edit]Teams
Samsung Lions
[edit]Basketball [edit]Players
Yao Ming Allen Iverson John Wall Danilo Gallinari Jameer Nelson Jason Terry
[edit]Boxing [edit]Boxers
Amir Khan
[edit]Cricket [edit]National teams
Canada Sri Lanka
Zimbabwe World XI
[edit]Club teams

bolton fc
Street Walker's Chennai Super Kings Royal Challengers Bangalore
Kolkata Knight Riders
[edit]Players
Yuvraj Singh MS Dhoni Harbhajan Singh
Yusuf Pathan
[edit]Football [edit]Africa
club teams
Celtic AmaZulu
[edit]Americas

[edit]Asia
Cruzeiro Internacional
So Paulo Saprissa
Kingfisher East Bengal Mohun Bagan
Mohammedan Persiba Balikpapan
[edit]Europe
Bolton Wanderers Lens (Ending to the season 2011/2012).
FC Cologne Drenica
[edit]Oceania
Adelaide United Central Coast Mariners Gold Coast United Melbourne Heart
Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets North Queensland Fury Perth Glory
[edit]Football
players

Iker Casillas Ryan Giggs
Rogerio Ceni Thierry Henry
[edit]Formula
One
Force India
[edit]Ice
Hockey
NHL all teams[8] Sidney Crosby Roberto Luongo Jean-Sbastien Gigure
Marty Turco Marc-Andr Fleury Matt Duchene Darren Helm
[edit]Lacrosse
Brodie Merrill NLL - all teams[8][9]
[edit]Rugby
League Union
Dragons
[edit]Rugby
Tasman Makos
[edit]Track
and Field
Nick Willis Carolina Klft
[edit]Other
sportsmen sponsored
Greg Norman (golf) Nicole Vaidiov (tennis) Josh Beckett (baseball)
[edit]Former
sponsorships
[edit]Basketball
NBA exclusive kit provider for all its teams (200106) WNBA exclusive kit provider for all its teams (200106)
[edit]Colleges
Baylor Bears UCLA Bruins Wisconsin Badgers
Wyoming Cowboys Utah Utes Hawai'i Warriors
[edit]Football national teams
Argentina (19992001) Chile (19962000)
Colombia (19982001) Ecuador
[edit]Football club teams
Banfield Godoy Cruz Palmeiras Fluminense Universidad Catlica Emelec SC Bastia Borussia Mnchengladbach Cagliari Fiorentina
Utrecht Sporting Lisboa
Heart of Midlothian Atltico Madrid Pearol Rapids Revolution
[edit]Rugby union teams
Wales (2006)
[edit]Tennis
India Fed Cup team
[edit]Recent
news
In 2009, Reebok launched JUKARI Fit to Fly, an innovative gym workout designed for all women with one single objective to make fitness for women fun again. JUKARI, the result of a long-term relationship between Reebok and the globally renowned entertainment company, Cirque du Soleil, is an hour-long
workout that was created on a specially-designed piece of equipment called the FlySet, which gives the sensation of flying while strengthening and lengthening the body through cardio, strength, balance and core training. JUKARI launched in top gyms in fourteen cities around the world including Hong Kong, Mexico City, Madrid, London, Krakw, Munich, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Montreal, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. To complement JUKARI Fit to Fly, Reebok also created two collections of women's fitness apparel and footwear called On the Move and the Reebok-Cirque du Soleil collection. Both lines consist of products that can be worn for a range of fitness disciplines, from running to yoga, JUKARI Fit to Fly, to tennis. All were developed and designed with a deep understanding and knowledge of the unique way a woman's body moves. In 2009, Reebok launched the EasyTone footwear collection that allows consumers to "take the gym with them." The EasyTone technology involves two balance pods under the heel and forefoot of the shoe that create a natural instability with every step, which Reebok claims forces the muscles to adapt and develop tone.
In April 2008 Reebok launched its online store in UK and France.[10] In January 2009 Reebok had extended the store to Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland and had also introduced YourReebok an application to design your own Reeboks.[11]
For the 200809 season, Reebok created the Reebok Edge 2 uniform system, for National Hockey League's players. The league adopted the jersey and now all teams sport the new style for both their home and away jerseys.
In July 2007, Reebok launched its Lifestyle Footwear Collection in association with Daddy Yankee's new album. In December 2007, Reebok launched the GOAL Collection of football gear on the release of the Indian football movie Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.
In June 2007, Reebok announced Scarlett Johansson on its array of brand ambassadors. Johansson promotes the Scarlett 'Hearts' Rbk" collection, a 'fashion-forward, athletic-inspired' footwear targeted at the Indian market.
For the 2007/08 season, the National Hockey League introduced a new uniform system league-wide, designed and manufactured by Reebok and called Reebok Edge. The new uniforms include new fabrics which are said to repel water and sweat more effectively. Most players have avoided comment, but some have commented that the Edge system's improved water repelling abilities leads to gloves and skates becoming saturated and uncomfortable during play.
In late 2006, a court case began between Liverpool FC, the winners of the 2005 UEFA Champions League while wearing Reebok's kit, and Reebok. Reebok claimed that Liverpool cost them 7m because of a delay in confirming the renewal of the Carlsberg sponsorship deal, which meant a delay in releasing the away shirt for 2005/06 (the last that Reebok would make for them)The kit that was eventually released was
very similar to the away kit for 2003/04. Liverpool subsequently switched to Adidas for their official kit following Adidas' acquisition of Reebok.
In November 2006, the National Basketball Association and Women's National Basketball Association switched from Reebok to Adidas branding on authentic and replica jerseys because that brand is better known outside North America and the UK.
In October 2006 Reebok launches its first blog, "I am what I am"[12] in Spanish. On March 23, 2006, Reebok recalled 300,000 charm bracelets that contained extremely high levels of lead. The bracelet has a heart pendant at the end that is printed with the name "Reebok." It allegedly caused the lead poisoning death of a 4-year-old child who swallowed it.
In August 2005, one of the company's largest rivals, Adidas, announced that it would acquire Reebok for $3.8 billion. The deal was completed in January 2006.[13]
[edit]See
also
List of swimwear brands
[edit]References
1. ^ "Our Brands adidas group". Adidas-group.com. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 2. ^ a b "Reebok Shoes". "Joseph William Foster, founder of Reebok's predecessor company, made running
shoes with spikes way back in the late 19th century, making him one of the first shoe manufacturers to do this and helping to develop the athletic shoe into its current form. In 1895, Foster opened a business in the United Kingdom, J.W. Foster and Sons, to market his high-quality handmade running shoes to knowledgeable athletes across the world. By 1924, Foster and Sons had an established reputation for manufacturing superior shoes, and the company was given the chance to manufacture running shoes for athletes representing England in the Olympics. Among the runners performing in Foster shoes were the legendary Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, runners whose lives form the basis of the classic movie "Chariots of Fire." With this legacy of high-quality footwear construction in mind, two of Foster's grandchildren, Joe and Jeff Foster founded Mercury Sports. This was the company that would become Reebok in 1960, named after the Dutch word for an African gazelle. The company lived up to the J.W. Foster legacy, manufacturing first-class footwear for customers throughout the UK. In 1979, Paul Fireman, a (US) sporting goods distributor, saw a pair of Reeboks at an international trade show and negotiated to sell them in North America"
3. ^ "About Reebok". "Reebok International Limited is a British producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and
accessories and is currently a subsidiary of Adidas!. The name comes from Afrikaans/Dutch spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. The company, founded in 1895, was originally called Mercury Sports but was renamed Reebok in 1960. The company's founders, Joe and Jeff Foster, found the name in
a dictionary won in a race by Joe Foster as a boy; the dictionary was a South African edition, hence the spelling."
4. ^ "Vintage Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Hockey Jersey-SportsK - Toronto MapleLeafs - V-NHL-LEAF".
Sportsk.com. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
5. ^ "Announcement of Shevchenko signs a deal with Rbk". 6. ^ "Reebok signs a deal with A-League". 7. ^ "S.Carter the fastest selling Reebok shoe". 8. ^ a b "Reebok agreements with USA professional leagues". Corporate.reebok.com. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 9. ^ "Reebok and NLL extend partnership". Nll.com. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 10. ^ Reebok.com 11. ^ "Home". Reebok. 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 12. ^ Iawia.es 13. ^ "EU Approves Adidas-Reebok Merger | Business | Deutsche Welle | 25.01.2006". Dw-world.de. Retrieved
2011-05-06.
[edit]External
links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reebok International Limited
Official website Reebok Hockey Reebok EasyTone Business practices website, supplier details Reebok South Africa
Nike, Inc.
This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (November 2010)
Nike, Inc.
Type
Public
Traded as
NYSE: NKE
Industry
Clothing and Sports equipment
Founded
1964 (as Blue Ribbon Sports)[1]
Founder(s)
William J. "Bill" Bowerman Philip H. Knight
Headquarters
Washington County, Oregon,United States (Near Beaverton, Oregon)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Philip H. Knight (Chairman) Mark Parker (President and CEO)
Products
Athletic shoes Apparel Sports equipment Accessories
Revenue
US$ 19.014 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Operating income
US$ 2.517 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Net income
US$ 1.907 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Total assets
US$ 14.419 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Total equity
US$ 9.754 billion (FY 2010)[2]
Employees
34,400 (May 2010)[2]
Website
Nike.com
Nike, Inc. (pronounced /naki/; NYSE: NKE) is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier ofathletic shoes and apparel[3] and a major manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue in excess of US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian. The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight,[1] and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek pronounced [nk]), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding and subsidiaries includingCole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008.[4] In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just do it" and theSwoosh logo.
Contents
[hide]
1 Origins and history
1.1 Acquisitions
2 Products 3 Headquarters 4 Manufacturing
4.1 Human rights concerns
5 Environmental record 6 Marketing strategy
6.1 Advertising
6.1.1 Beatles song 6.1.2 Minor Threat advertisement
6.1.3 Chinese-themed advertisement
6.1.4 Nike 6.0
6.2 Sponsorship
7 Drug promotion shirts controversy 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links
Origins and history

Nike, originally known as "Blue Ribbon Sports", was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile.[5] The company's profits grew quickly, and, in 1967, BRS opened its first retail store, located on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the newly designed Swoosh by Carolyn Davidson.[6] The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18, 1971, and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974.[7] The first shoe sold to the public to carry this design was a soccer shoe named Nike, which was released in the summer of 1971. In February 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes, with the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory. In 1978, BRS, Inc. officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc.. Beginning with Ilie Nstase, the first professional athlete to sign with BRS/Nike, the sponsorship of athletes became a key marketing tool for the rapidly growing company. The company's first self-designed product was based on Bowerman's "waffle" design. After the University of Oregon resurfaced the track at Hayward Field, Bowerman began experimenting with different potential outsoles that would grip the new urethane track more effectively. His efforts were rewarded one Sunday morning when he poured liquid urethane into his wife's waffle iron. Bowerman developed and refined the so-called 'waffle' sole, which would evolve into the now-iconic Waffle Trainer in 1974. By 1980, Nike had reached a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year.[8] Its growth was due largely to 'word-of-foot' advertising (to quote a Nike print ad from the late 1970s), rather than television ads. Nike's first national television commercials ran in October 1982 during the broadcast of the New York Marathon. The ads were created by Portland-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, which had formed several months earlier in April 1982. Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television advertisements and the agency continues to be Nike's primary today. It was agency co-founder Dan Wiedenwho coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century, and the campaign has been enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution.[8] San Franciscan Walt Stack was featured in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement that debuted on July
1, 1988.[9] Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Lets do it", the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed.[10] Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to include many other sports and regions throughout the world.[11]
Acquisitions
As of November 2008, Nike, Inc. owns four key subsidiaries: Cole Haan, Hurley International, Converse Inc. and Umbro. Nike's first acquisition was the upscale footwear company Cole Haan in 1988. In February 2002, Nike bought surf apparel company Hurley International from founder Bob Hurley.[12] In July 2003, Nike paid US$309 million to acquire Converse Inc., makers of the iconic Chuck Taylor All Stars.[13] On March 3, 2008, Nike acquired sports apparel supplier Umbro, known as the manufacturers of the England national football team's kit, in a deal said to be worth 285 million (about US$600 million).[14] Other subsidiaries previously owned and subsequently sold by Nike include Bauer Hockey and Starter.[15]
Products
A Nike brand athletic shoe
A pair of Nike Air Jordan I basketball shoes

Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment. Their first products were track running shoes. They currently also make shoes, jerseys, shorts, baselayers, etc. for a wide range of sports including track and field, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, association
football (soccer),lacrosse, basketball, and cricket. Nike Air Max is a line of shoes first released by Nike, Inc. in 1987. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0, Nike NYX, and Nike SB shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket shoes, called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their competitors'.[16] In 2008, Nike introduced the Air Jordan XX3, a high-performance basketball shoe designed with the environment in mind. Nike sells an assortment of products, including shoes and apparel for sports activities like association football,
[17]
basketball, running, combat sports, tennis, American football, athletics, golf, and cross training for men, women, and children.
Nike also sells shoes for outdoor activities such as tennis, golf, skateboarding, association football, baseball, American football, cycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, auto racing, and other athletic and recreational uses. Nike is well known and popular in youth culture, chav culture and hip hop culture as they supply urban fashion clothing. Nike recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+ product that monitors a runner's performance via a radio device in the shoe that links to the iPod nano. While the product generates useful statistics, it has been criticized by researchers who were able to identify users' RFID devices from 60 feet (18 m) away using small, concealable intelligence motes in a wireless sensor network.[18][19] In 2004, they launched the SPARQ Training Program/Division.[citation needed] Some of Nike's newest shoes contain Flywire and Lunarlite Foam. These are materials used to reduce the weight of many types of shoes.[20] On July 15, 2009, Nike+ Sports Band were released in stores. The Nike+ Sports Band recorded mileage ran, calories lost, kept time, and also gives runners new programs online they can try running. The 2010 Nike Pro Combat jersey collection will be worn by Miami, Alabama, Boise State, Florida, Ohio State, Oregon State, TCU, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh. Teams will wear these jerseys in key match ups as well as any time the athletic department deems necessary.[21]
Headquarters
Nike's world headquarters are surrounded by the city of Beaverton, but are within unincorporated Washington County. The city attempted to forcibly annex Nike's headquarters, which led to a lawsuit by Nike, and lobbying by the company that ultimately ended in Oregon Senate Bill 887 of 2005. Under that bill's terms, Beaverton is specifically barred from forcibly annexing the land that Nike and Columbia Sportswear occupy in unincorporated Washington County for 35 years, while Electro Scientific Industries and Tektronix get that same protection for 30 years.[22]
Manufacturing
Nike has contracted with more than 700 shops around the world and has offices located in 45 countries outside the United States.
[23]
Most of the factories are located in Asia, including Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines, and
Malaysia.[24] Nike is hesitant to disclose information about the contract companies it works with. However, due to harsh criticism from some organizations like CorpWatch, Nike has disclosed information about its contract factories in its Corporate Governance Report.
Human rights concerns
Nike has been criticized for contracting with factories (known as Nike sweatshops) in countries such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. Vietnam Labor Watch, an activist group, has documented that factories contracted by Nike have violated minimum wage and overtime laws in Vietnam as late as 1996, although Nike claims that this practice has been halted.
[25]
The company has been subject to much critical coverage of the often poor working conditions and exploitation of cheap overseas
labor employed in the free trade zones where their goods are typically manufactured. Sources of this criticism include Naomi Klein's book No Logo and Michael Moore's documentaries. During the 1990s, Nike faced criticism for use of child labor in Cambodia and Pakistan in factories it contracted to manufacture soccer balls. Although Nike took action to curb or at least reduce the practice of child labor, they continue to contract their production to companies that operate in areas where inadequate regulation and monitoring make it hard to ensure that child labor is not being used.[26] In 2001, a BBC documentary uncovered occurrences of child labor and poor working conditions in a Cambodian factory used by Nike.[27] In the documentary, six girls were focused on, all of whom worked seven days a week, often 16 hours a day. Campaigns have been taken up by many colleges and universities, especially anti-globalisation groups as well as several antisweatshop groups such as the United Students Against Sweatshops.[28] Despite these campaigns, however, Nike's annual revenues have increased from US$6.4 billion in 1996 to nearly US$17 billion in 2007, according to the company's annual reports. A July 2008 investigation by Australian Channel 7 News found a large number of cases involving forced labour in one of the biggest Nike apparel factories. The factory located in Malaysia was filmed by an undercover crew who found instances of squalid living conditions and forced labour. Nike have since stated that they will take corrective action to ensure the continued abuse does not occur.[29] Nike also caused controversy during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, when their sponsored Chinese athlete, Liu Xiang, withdrew from the Olympic 110 metre hurdles, leaving the track after a false start by another competitor. Liu claimed that he withdrew due an ankle injury.[30] However, an anonymous message was posted on the internet, purportedly from a source close to Nike, claiming that the corporation had forced Liu to withdraw as he was unlikely to win, thereby tarnishing their image. Nike responded by announcing that "we have immediately asked relevant [Chinese] government departments to investigate those that started the rumour".[31]
Environmental record
The consistently growing [textile industry] often negatively impacts the environment. Because Nike is a large participant in this manufacturing, many of their processes negatively contribute to the environment. One way the expanding textile industry affects the environment is by increasing its water deficit, climate change, pollution, and fossil fuel and raw material consumption. In addition to this, today's electronic textile plants spend significant amounts of energy, while also producing a throw-away mindset due to trends founded upon fast fashion and cheap clothing.[32] Although these combined effects can negatively alter the environment, Nike tries to counteract their influence with different projects. According to a New England-based environmental organisation Clean Air-Cool Planet, Nike ranks among the top 3 companies (out
of 56) on a survey conducted about climate-friendly companies.[33] Nike has also been praised for itsNike Grind program (which closes the product lifecycle) by groups like Climate Counts.[34] In addition to this, one campaign that Nike began for Earth Day 2008 was a commercial that featured Steve Nash wearing Nike's Trash Talk Shoe, a shoe that had been constructed in February 2008 from pieces of leather and synthetic leather waste that derived from the factory floor. The Trash Talk Shoe also featured a sole composed of ground-up rubber from a shoe recycling program. Nike claims this is the first performance basketball shoe that has been created from manufacturing waste, but it only produced 5,000 pairs for sale.[35] Another project Nike has begun is called Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program. This program, started in 1993, is Nike's longest-running program that benefits both the environment and the community by collecting old athletic shoes of any type in order to process and recycle them. The material that is created from the recycled shoes is then used to help create sports surfaces, such as basketball courts, running tracks, and playgrounds.[36] A project through UNC found worker exposure to toxic isocyanates and other chemicals in footwear factories in Thailand. In addition to inhalation, dermal exposure was the biggest problem found. This could result in allergic reactions including asthmatic reactions.[37]
[38]
Marketing strategy
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)
Nike's marketing strategy is an important component of the company's success. Nike is positioned as a premium-brand, selling welldesigned and expensive products. Nike lures customers with a marketing strategy centering around a brand image attained by distinctive logo and the advertising slogan: "Just do it".[39] Nike promotes its products by sponsorship agreements with celebrity athletes, professional teams and college athletic teams. However, Nike's marketing mix contains many elements besides promotion. These are summarised below.
Advertising
In 1982, Nike aired its first national television ads, created by newly formed ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, during the New York Marathon. This was the beginning of a successful partnership between Nike and W+K that remains intact today. The Cannes Advertising Festival has named Nike its Advertiser of the Year on two separate occasions, the first and only company to receive that honor twice (1994, 2003).[40] Nike also has earned the Emmy Award for best commercial twice since the award was first created in the 1990s. The first was for "The Morning After," a satirical look at what a runner might face on the morning of January 1, 2000 if every dire prediction about Y2K came to fruition.[41] The second Emmy for advertising earned by Nike was for a 2002 spot called "Move," which featured a series of famous and everyday athletes in a stream of athletic pursuits.[42] In addition to garnering awards, Nike advertising has generated its fair share of controversy:
Beatles song
Nike was the focus of criticism for its use of the Beatles song "Revolution" in a 1987 commercial, against the wishes of Apple Records, the Beatles' recording company. Nike paid US$250,000 to Capitol Records Inc., which held the North American licensing rights to the Beatles' recordings, for the right to use the Beatles' rendition for a year. Apple sued Nike Inc., Capitol Records Inc., EMI Records Inc. and Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency for $15 million.[43] CapitolEMI countered by saying the lawsuit was 'groundless' because Capitol had licensed the use of "Revolution" with the "active support and encouragement of Yoko Ono Lennon, a shareholder and director of Apple." According to a November 9, 1989 article in the Los Angeles Daily News, "a tangle of lawsuits between the Beatles and their American and British record companies has been settled." One condition of the out-of-court settlement was that terms of the agreement would be kept secret. The settlement was reached among the three parties involved: George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr; Yoko Ono; and Apple, EMI and Capitol Records. A spokesman for Yoko Ono noted, "It's such a confusing myriad of issues that even people who have been close to the principals have a difficult time grasping it. Attorneys on both sides of the Atlantic have probably put their children through college on this." Nike discontinued airing ads featuring "Revolution" in March 1988. Yoko Ono later gave permission to Nike to use John Lennon's "Instant Karma" in another advertisement.
Minor Threat advertisement

In late June 2005, Nike received criticism from Ian MacKaye, owner of Dischord Records, guitarist/vocalist for Fugazi & The Evens, and front-man of defunct punk band Minor Threat, for appropriating imagery and text from Minor Threat's 1981 self-titled album's cover art in a flyer promoting Nike Skateboarding's 2005 East Coast demo tour. On June 27, Nike Skateboarding's website issued an apology to Dischord, Minor Threat, and fans of both and announced that they tried to remove and dispose of all flyers. They state that the people who designed it were skateboarders and Minor Threat fans themselves who created the advertisement out of respect and appreciation for the band.[44] The dispute was eventually settled out of court between Nike & Minor Threat. The exact details of the settlement have never been disclosed.
Chinese-themed advertisement
Niketown at Oxford Street, London
Rafael Nadal is currently sponsored by Nike, Inc. (Note the swoosh on the player's attire)
In 2004, an ad about LeBron James beating cartoon martial arts masters and slaying a Chinese dragon in martial arts offended Chinese authorities, who called the ad blasphemous and insulting to national dignity and to the dragon. The advertisement was later banned in China. In early 2007, the ad was reinstated in China for unknown reasons.[45]
Nike 6.0
The company rolled out a new campaign in June 2011 called "Nike 6.0" that is aimed at extreme sport athletes. As part of the campaign, Nike introduced a new line of T-shirts that include phrases such as "Dope" and "Get High" - sports lingo that is also a double entendre for drug use.Boston Mayor Thomas Menino expressed his objection to the shirts after seeing them in a window display at the city's Niketown and asked the store to remove the display. "What we don't need is a major corporation like Nike, which tries to appeal to the younger generation, out there giving credence to the drug issue," Menino told The Boston Herald. A company official says the shirts are meant exclusively to pay homage to extreme sports, and that Nike does not condone the illegal use of drugs.[46]
Sponsorship
Main article: Nike sponsorships Nike pays top athletes in many different sports to use their products and promote/advertise their technology and design.
Nike's first professional athlete endorser was Romanian tennis player Ilie Nstase, and the company's first track endorser was distance running legend Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine was the prized pupil of the company's co-founder Bill Bowerman while he coached at the University of Oregon. Today, the Steve Prefontaine Building is named in his honor at Nike's corporate headquarters. Besides Prefontaine, Nike has sponsored many other successful track & field athletes over the years such as Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kerseeand Sebastian Coe. However, it is the signing of basketball player Michael Jordan in 1984, with his subsequent promotion of Nike over the course of his storied career with Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon, that proved to be one of the biggest boosts to Nike's publicity and sales. During the past 20 years especially, Nike has been one of the major clothing/footwear sponsors for leading tennis players. Some of the more successful tennis players currently or formerly sponsored by Nike include: James Blake, Jim Courier, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Martn del Potro, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Marion Bartoli, Lindsay Davenport, Daniela Hantuchov, Mary Pierce, Maria Sharapova,Serena Williams. Nike is the official kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team for 5 years, from 2006 till end of 2010. Nike beat Adidas and Puma by bidding highest (US$43 Million total).[47][48] Nike sponsors some of the leading clubs in world football, including the national teams of India, France, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, theUnited States, and Malaysia. Nike sponsors several of the world's top golf players, including Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, Michelle Wie, Trevor Immelman, and Paul Casey. Nike also sponsors various minor events including Hoop It Up (high school basketball) and The Golden West Invitational (high school track and field). Nike uses web sites as a promotional tool to cover these events. Nike also has several websites for individual sports, including nikebasketball.com, nikefootball.com, and nikerunning.com.
Drug promotion shirts controversy

In June 2011, Nike was forced to replace a line of shirts that read "Dope" "Get High" and "Ride Pipe" due to complaints that they promoted drug use.[49] When asked Nike, Inc stated that the shirts were sport related and had on them terms used by skaters, snowboarders, and participants in other extreme sports.[50]
See also
Companies portal
Oregon portal United States portal
Nike sweatshops List of companies of the United States List of swimwear brands,
Puma AG
This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (July 2010)
Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport
Type
Aktiengesellschaft
Traded as
FWB: PUM
Industry
Clothing and consumer goodsmanufacture
Founded
1924 as Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik (registered in 1948)[1]
Founder(s)
Rudolf Dassler
Headquarters Herzogenaurach, Germany
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jochen Zeitz (CEO and Chairman of the

management board)
Melody Harris-Jensbach(deputy CEO) Klaus Bauer (COO) Franois-Henri Pinault(Chairman of

the supervisory board)
Products
Footwear, sportswear, sports goods, fashion accessories
Revenue
2.706 billion (2010)[2]
Operating income
306.8 million (2010)[2]
Profit
202.2 million (2010)[2]
Total assets
2.367 billion (end 2010)[2]
Total equity
1.386 billion (end 2010)[2]
Employees
9,310 (average, 2010)[2]
Parent
PPR
Website
www.puma.com
Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers
deteriorated until the two agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Puma is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The company is known for its football shoes and has sponsored acclaimed footballers, including Pel, Eusbio, Johan Cruijff, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona, Lothar Matthus, Kenny Dalglish, Didier Deschamps and Gianluigi Buffon. Puma is also the sponsor of theJamaican track athlete Usain Bolt. In the United States, the company is probably best known for the suede basketball shoe it introduced in 1968, which eventually bore the name of New York Knicks basketball star Walt "Clyde" Frazier, and for its endorsement partnership with Joe Namath. Following the split from his brother, Rudolf Dassler originally registered the new-established company as Ruda, but later changed toPuma.[3]:31 Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a D, which was registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe designs feature the distinctive "Formstripe",[3]:33 with clothing and other products having the logo printed on them. The company also offers lines shoes and sports clothing, designed by Lamine Kouyate, Amy Garbers and others. Since 1996 Puma has intensified its activities in the United States. Puma owns 25% of American brand sports clothing maker Logo Athletic, which is licensed by American professional basketball and association football leagues. Since 2007 Puma AG has been part of the French luxury group PPR.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
1.1 Background 1.2 Company split and creation of PUMA
1.3 Early years and rivalry with Adidas
1.4 The Pel pact and subsequent affairs
1.5 Present day 1.6 Special editions of King model of football boots
1.7 Takeover by PPR 1.8 Controversy 1.9 Timeline
2 Sponsorship 3 Acquisitions 4 Footnotes 5 External links
[edit]History [edit]Background
Christoph von Wilhelm Dassler was a worker in a shoe factory, while his wife Pauline ran a small laundry in the Bavarian town ofHerzogenaurach, 20 km (12.4 mi) from the city of Nuremberg. Their son Rudolf Dassler, after leaving school, joined his father at the shoe factory, and was then called up to fight in World War I. Upon his return, Rudolf received a management position at a porcelain factory, and later in a leather wholesale business inNuremberg. After tiring of working for others and away from home, Rudolf returned to Herzogenaurach in 1924 to join his younger brother Adolf, nicknamed "Adi", who had founded his own shoe factory. They named the new business Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory). The pair started their venture in their mother's laundry, but at the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.[4] By the 1936 Summer Olympics, Adi Dassler drove from Bavaria on one of the world's first motorways to the Olympic village with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. After Owens won four gold medals, his success cemented the good reputation of Dassler shoes among the world's most famous sportsmen. Letters from around the world landed on the brothers' desks, and the trainers of other national teams were all interested in their shoes. Business boomed and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes annually before World War II.[5]
[edit]Company
split and creation of PUMA
Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party. During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached a breaking point after an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in. "Here are the bloody bastards again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family.[3]:18 After Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.[4] In 1948, the brothers split their business. Rudolf left the high hill for the other side of the Aurach River to start his own company. It was from this split that Adolf started his own sportswear company with the name he formed using his nickname "Adi" and the first three letters of his last name "Das", to establish Adidas. Rudolf created a new firm that he calledRuda from "Ru" in Rudolf and "Da" in Dassler. Rudolf's company would later change its name to Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler in 1948.[6] The brothers earlier split led to a divided town. From 1948, the town was similar to a miniBerlin. Brand loyalty became supreme for residents; several stores, bakeries and bars were unofficially known as either loyal to Rudolf's Puma, or to Adolf's Adidas. Even the town's two football clubs were also divided: ASV Herzogenaurach club supported the three stripes, while 1 FC Herzogenaurach endorsed Rudolf's footwear.[7] When handymen were called to Rudolf's home, they would wear Adidas shoes deliberately so that when Rudolf would see their footwear, he would tell them to go to the basement and pick out a pair of free Puma shoes.[4] The two brothers never reconciled, and although both are buried in the same cemetery, they are spaced apart as far as possible.
A pair of Puma sport-lifestyle shoes with the company's distinctive "Formstripe" design
[edit]Early
years and rivalry with Adidas
Following the split, Puma and Adidas initiated a fierce and bitter rivalry with each other. The enmity split Herzogenaurach into two, leading to the nickname "the town of bent necks" people looked down to see which shoes strangers wore.[8] In 1948, the first football match after World War II, several members of the West German national football team wore Puma boots, including the scorer of West Germany's first postwar goal, Herbert Burdenski. Four years later, at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1500 metres runner Josy Barthel of Luxembourg won Puma's first Olympic gold in Helsinki, Finland. At the 1960 Summer Olympics Puma paid German sprinter Armin Hary to wear Pumas in the 100 metres sprint final. Hary had worn Adidas before and asked Adolf for payment, but Adidas rejected this request. The German won gold in Pumas, but then laced up Adidas for the medals ceremony to the shock of the two Dassler brothers. Hary hoped to cash in from both with the trick, but Adi was so enraged he banned the Olympic champion.[5]
[edit]The
Pel pact and subsequent affairs
A few months prior to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Armin Dassler and his cousin, Horst Dassler, sealed an agreement which was dubbed "The Pel pact". This agreement dictated thatPel would be out of bounds for both Adidas and Puma. However, Armin found the potential financial and marketing advantage of sponsoring the superstar irresistible. Pel complied with a request by Puma's representative Hans Henningsen to increase the awareness and profile of the German sports shoe company after he received $120,000 to wear the Formstripes.[5]At the opening whistle of a 1970 World Cup finals match, Pel stopped the referee with a last-second request to tie his shoelaces before kneeling down to give millions of televisionviewers a close-up of his Pumas.[3]:82 This greatly outraged Horst Dassler and future peace agreements were called off. Two years later, during the 1972 Summer Olympics, Puma provided running shoes for the Uganda 400 metres hurdles champion, John Akii-Bua. After Akii-Bua was forced out of Uganda by its military government, Puma employed Ake Bua in Germany, and tried to help integrate him and his family in German society, but eventually Akii-Bua returned to Uganda. In May 1989, Rudolf's sons Armin and Gerd Dassler agreed to sell their 72 percent stake in Puma, to Swiss business Cosa Liebermann SA.[9] Puma became a public company in 1986, and thereafter was listed on the Brse Mnchen and Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
[edit]Present
day
Parts of this article (those related to section) are outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)
A Puma store in a shopping centre
Puma AG has approximately 9,204 employees and distributes its products in more than 80 countries.[when?] For the fiscal year 2003, the company had a revenue of 1.274 billion. Puma were the commercial sponsors for the 2002 anime series Hungry Heart: Wild Striker, with the jerseys and clothing sporting the Puma brand. The company has been conducted by CEO and Chairman Jochen Zeitz since 1993. His contract has been extended ahead of schedule for four more years until 2012 in October 2007.[10] Japanese fashion guru Mihara Yasuhiro teamed up with Puma to create a high-end and high-concept line of sneakers[11] Puma is the main producer of enthusiast driving shoes and race suits. They are the prime producer in both Formula One and NASCARespecially. They had also successfully won the rights to sponsor the 2006 FIFA World Cup champions, the Italian national football team, with them making and sponsoring the clothing worn by the team. Their partnership with Ferrari and BMW to make Puma-Ferrari and Puma-BMW shoes has also contributed to this success. On 15 March 2007, Puma launched its first new 2007/2008 line of uniforms for a club, andBrazilian football club Grmio will be the first to use the laser sewn technology, similar to the one worn by Italy at the 2006 World Cup. Grmio and other Brazilian clubs will be the first to use the technology because their season starts six months earlier than European clubs. Puma also makes baseball cleats, and Johnny Damon, the outfielder for the Detroit Tigers, is their spokesperson. He has his own cleat called the "DFR Metals".
[edit]Special
editions of King model of football boots
In 2008, Puma commemorated the 40th anniversary of the "King" model of boots with a special anniversary edition,[12] the King XL (XL is 40 in Roman Numerals), a tribute to Portuguesefootballer Eusbio, who shot 42 goals with the King model of boots in 1968, winning the Golden Boot Award as Europe's leading scorer. The King model also was the favourite shoe of players like Pel, Mario Kempes, Rudi Vller, Lothar Matthus, Massimo Oddo and Diego Maradona. Puma have continued to release new versions of the King range, and released a version in 2009 to celebrate the history of Italian soccer, and in particular double World Cup winning coach Vittorio Pozzo, the Puma King XL Italia.[13] In 2010, a Puma King model was released commemorating the 50th birthday of Diego Maradona with a model called the Puma King Diego Finale football boot. This edition was created in the colours of the La Albiceleste of the Argentina National football team.
[edit]Takeover
by PPR
In February 2007, Puma reported that its profits had fallen by 26% to 32.8 million ($43 million; 22 million) during the final three months of 2006. Most of the profit decline was due to higher costs linked to its expansion, and sales actually rose by more than a third to 480.6 million.[14] In early April 2007, Puma's shares rose 29.25 per share, or about 10.2% higher, at 315.24 per share.[15] On 10 April 2007, French retailer and owner of Gucci brand PinaultPrintemps-Redoute (PPR) announced that it had bought a 27% stake in Puma, clearing the way for a full takeover. The deal values Puma at 5.3 billion. PPR said that it would launch a "friendly" takeover for Puma, worth 330 a share, once the acquisition of the smaller stake was completed. The board of Puma welcomed the move, saying it was fair and in the firm's best interests.[16] Since 17 July 2007 PPR have 62.1 % of Puma stocks. While PPR owns the majority of Puma's stock, Puma remains an independent company.
[edit]Controversy
Organizations promoting fair trade and worker's rights criticize Puma's employment practices in their developing world factories, predominantly relating to workers in China, Turkey, El Salvador, and Indonesia.[17][18][19]
[edit]Timeline
1920: Rudolf Dassler and his brother Adolf start making sports shoes. 1924: Foundation of Gebrder Dassler Schuhfabrik, Herzogenaurach, Germany.
1948: Foundation of Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler (1 October), Introduction of the ATOM, Puma's first football shoe. 1949: Rudolf Dassler has the idea of football shoes with removable studs. He begins working on their development and production.
Many football experts, like Sepp Herberger, are involved.

1952: Introduction of the SUPER ATOM. 1953: Development of ATOM's successor: the BRASIL. 1958: Introduction of Puma's signature "Formstripe" at the FIFA World Cup in Sweden. 1959: The company is transformed into a limited partnership named PumaSportschuhfabriken Rudolf Dassler KG. 1960: Introduction of the technologically advanced vulcanization production technique. 1966: Launch of the WEMBLEY, the predecessor model to the Puma King. 1968: Launch of the legendary KING. Puma is the first manufacturer to offer sports shoes with Velcro fasteners. 1974: Rudolf Dassler dies. His sons Armin and Gerd take over the company's management. 1976: Introduction of the revolutionary S.P.A.-Technology. 1986: Transformation into a stock corporation. 1989: Launch of the TRINOMIC sport shoe system. 1990: Introduction of INSPECTOR, a growth control system for children's shoes. 1991: Launch of the DISC SYSTEM sports shoe. 1992: Capital increase by DM 20 million, share capital reaches DM 70 million. 1993: Jochen Zeitz is appointed Chairman and CEO, Proventus/Aritmos B.V. becomes majority shareholder. 1994: The first profit since the company's IPO in 1986 is regeristered. 1996: Puma is listed in the German M-DAX index; introduction of the CELL technology, the first foam-free midsole. 1997: Launch of the CELLERATOR. 1998: Puma merges sports and fashion. The company starts a cooperation with designer Jil Sander.
1999: Puma becomes an official on-field supplier of the U.S. National Football League (NFL). 2000: Production of fireproof footwear in partnership with Porsche and Sparco. 2001: Acquisition of the Scandinavian Tretorn Group. 2002: Launch of the SHUDOH. 2003: Majority shareholder Monarchy/Regency sells its shareholdings to a broad base of institutional investors. 2004: Collaborative partnership with world-renowned designer Philippe Starck. 2005: Mayfair Vermgensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbh acquires a total of 16.91% shareholding. 2006: The company is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index; Introduction of the S.A.F.E. concept, a specific tool developed to continuously improve social and environmental standards. Shoe collection in cooperation with Alexander McQueen. Italy would go on to win the world cup as they are sponsored by puma many of the teams soccer( football) players wearing puma cleats. 2007: Voluntary public take-over by Pinault-Printemps Redoute; Prolongation of the contract with Jochen Zeitz by five years. 2008: Melody Harris-Jensbach is appointed Deputy CEO; Designer and artist Hussein Chalayan becomes Creative Director, Puma also acquires a majority stake in Chalayan's business and Hussein Chalayan. 2010: Signs two year deals to make the kits of Newcastle United, Motherwell, Hibernian, Burnley & Preston from the 201011 season. 2011: Signs a deal to make kits of GNK Dinamo Zagreb from the 2011-12 season.
[edit]Sponsorship
This section requires expansion.
Main article: List of Puma sponsorships
Puma is the sponsor of the Formula Oneracing team Red Bull Racing. The team is seen here at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix
New Zealandwicket-keeper and batsman Brendon McCullum wearing the puma wicket-keeping gloves and pads, during a test match.
Puma is a sponsor of sporting events and identities, domestically and internationally. From its origins in football, the company sponsors numerous footballers and national football teams; the "Formstripe" especially has a heavy presence in Africa. Puma is also the sponsor of a number of Premier League teams, most notably Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur (both until the end of 2011/12 season). In Australian rules football, Puma has longstanding marketing relationships with the Hawthorn Football Club and West Coast Eagles, along with the Brisbane Lions. With Hawthorn especially, Puma has been the club's apparel sponsor since the 1980s, during the club's most successful era.
In Cricket, Puma is the official apparel sponsor for the Deccan Chargers(Team representing the city of Hyderabad), and Rajasthan Royals(Team representing the city if Jaipur) in the Indian Premier League.[20][21] International cricketers such as Adam Gilchrist (Australia),Shane Watson (Australia) and Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) endorse the brand, and use the brand's cricket gear.[22] In Rugby Union Puma entered an eight year contract as official apparel sponsor of the Irish Rugby team since the beginning of season 2009-10,[23] PUMA supply team kit, replica kit and training equipment. Puma also sponsor English premiership side Bath Rugby.
[edit]Acquisitions
On March 10, 2010 Puma announced it will acquire 100 percent of Cobra Golf, based in Carlsbad, California, from Fortune Brands Inc., but did not provide any financial details. The deal which faces regulatory approval is expected to close in the second quarter.[24]
[edit]
Clothing
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Clothing in history
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of most human societies. The amount and type of clothing worn depends on functional considerations (such as a need for warmth or protection from the elements) and social considerations. In some situations the minimum amount of clothing (i.e. covering of a person's genitals) may be socially acceptable, while in others much more clothing is expected. Functionality is the primary purpose of clothing. It can serve as protection from the elements. Clothes also enhance safety during hazardous activities such as hiking and cooking, by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. Further, clothes provide a hygienic barrier, keeping toxins away from the body and limiting the transmission of germs.
Clothing performs a range of social and cultural functions, such as individual, occupational and sexual differentiation, and social status.[1] Auniform, for example, may identify civil authority figures, such as police and military personnel, or it may identify team, group or political affiliations. In many societies, norms about clothing reflect standards of modesty, religion, gender, and social status. Clothing may also function as a form of adornment and an expression of personal taste or style. Clothing can and has in history been made from a very wide variety of materials. Materials have ranged from leather and furs, to woven materials, to elaborate and exotic natural and synthetic fabrics. Not all body coverings are regarded as clothing. Articles carried rather than worn (such as purses), worn on a single part of the body and easily removed (scarves), worn purely for adornment (jewelry), or those that serve a function other than protection (eyeglasses), are normally considered accessories rather than clothing,[citation
needed]
as are footwear and hats. However, if functional due to local and weather condition and benefits your well
being, footwear can be considered clothing.

Contents
[hide]
1 Functions 2 Scholarship 3 Cultural aspects
3.1 Gender differentiation
3.2 Social status 3.3 Religion
4 Origin and history
4.1 First recorded use
4.2 Making clothing
5 Contemporary clothing
5.1 Spread of western styles
5.2 Ethnic and
cultural heritage
5.3 Sport and activity
5.4 Fashion 5.5 Future trends
6 Political issues
6.1 Working conditions
6.2 Fur
7 Life cycle
7.1 Clothing maintenance
7.2 Laundry, ironing, storage
7.3 Non-iron 7.4 Mending 7.5 Recycling
8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links
[edit]Functions
A baby wearing many items of winterclothing: headband, cap, fur-lined coat,shawl and sweater
It can be said that there are four primary factors in clothing comfort, identifiable as the '4 Fs of Comfort' (1) fashion; (2) feel; (3) fit; and (4) function.[2] The only purposes of clothing is to keep the body warm and comfortable. In hot climates, clothing provides protection from sunburnor wind damage, while in cold climates its thermal insulation properties are generally more important. Shelter usually reduces the functional need for clothing. For example, coats, hats, gloves, shoes, socks, and other superficial layers are normally removed when entering a warm home, particularly if one is residing or sleeping there. Similarly, clothing has seasonal and regional aspects, so that thinner materials and fewer layers of clothing are generally worn in warmer seasons and regions than in colder ones. Clothing protects people against many things that might injure the uncovered human body. Clothes act as protection from the elements, including rain, snow and wind and other weather conditions, as well as from the sun. However, if clothing is too sheer, thin, small, tight, etc., the protection effect is minimized. Clothes also reduce the level of risk during activity, such as work or sport. Clothing at times is worn as protection from specific environmental hazards, such as insects, noxious chemicals, weapons, and contact with abrasive substances. Conversely, clothing may protect the environment from the clothing wearer, as with doctors wearing medical scrubs. Humans have shown extreme inventiveness in devising clothing solutions to environmental hazards. Some examples include: space suits, air conditioned clothing, armor, diving suits, swimsuits, bee-keeper gear, motorcycle leathers, high-visibility clothing, and other pieces of protective clothing. Meanwhile, the distinction between clothing and protective equipment is not always clear-cut, since clothes designed to be fashionable often have protective value and clothes designed for function often consider fashion in their design.
[edit]Scholarship
Although dissertations on clothing and its functionality are found from the 19th century as colonising countries dealt with new environments,[3] concerted scientific research into psycho-social, physiological and other functions of clothing (e.g. protective, cartage) occurred in the first half of the 20th century, with publications such as Flugel's Psychology of Clothes in 1930,[1] and Newburgh's seminal Physiology of Heat Regulation and The Science of Clothing in 1949.[4] By 1968, the field of environmental physiology had advanced and expanded significantly, but the science of clothing in relation to environmental physiology had changed little.[5] While considerable research has since occurred and the knowledge-base has grown significantly, the main concepts remain unchanged, and indeed Newburgh's book continues to be cited by contemporary authors, including those attempting to develop thermoregulatory models of clothing development.[6]
[edit]Cultural [edit]Gender
aspects
differentiation
Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice andTurkish President Abdullah Gl both wearing Western-style business suits.
In most cultures, gender differentiation of clothing is considered appropriate for men and women. The differences are in styles, colors and fabrics. In Western societies, skirts, dresses and high-heeled shoes are usually seen as women's clothing, while neckties are usually seen as men's clothing.Trousers were once seen as exclusively male clothing, but are nowadays worn by both genders. Male clothes are often more practical (that is, they can function well under a wide variety of situations), but a wider range of clothing styles are available for females. Males are
typically allowed to bare their chests in a greater variety of public places. It is generally acceptable for a woman to wear traditionally male clothing, while the converse is unusual. In some cultures, sumptuary laws regulate what men and women are required to wear. Islam requires women to wear more modest forms of attire, usuallyhijab. What qualifies as "modest" varies in different Muslim societies; however, women are usually required to cover more of their bodies than men are. Articles of clothing worn by Muslim women for purposes of modesty range from the headscarf to the burqa. Men may sometimes choose to wear men's skirts such as togas or kilts, especially on ceremonial occasions. Such garments were (in previous times) often worn as normal daily clothing by men. Compared to men's clothing, women's clothing tends to be more attractive, often intended to be looked at by men.[7] In modern industrialized nations, women are more likely to wear makeup, jewelry, and colorful clothing, while in very traditional cultures women are protected from men's gazes by modest dress.
[edit]Social
status
Alim Khan's bemedaled robe sends a social message about his wealth, status, and power
In some societies, clothing may be used to indicate rank or status. In ancient Rome, for example, only senators were permitted to wear garments dyed with Tyrian purple. In traditional Hawaiian society only high-ranking chiefs could wear feather cloaks and palaoa or carved whale teeth. Under the Travancore Kingdom of Kerala, (India), lower caste women had to pay a tax for the right to cover their upper body. In China, before the establishment of the republic, only the emperor could wear yellow. History provides many examples of elaborate sumptuary lawsthat regulated what people could wear. In societies without such laws, which includes most modern societies, social status is instead signaled by the purchase of rare or luxury items that are limited by cost to those with wealth or status. In addition, peer pressure influences clothing choice.
[edit]Religion
See also: Category:Religious vesture
Muslim men traditionally wear white robes and a cap during prayers
Religious clothing might be considered a special case of occupational clothing. Sometimes it is worn only during the performance of religious ceremonies. However, it may also be worn everyday as a marker for special religious status. For example, Jains wear unstitched cloth pieces when performing religious ceremonies. The unstitched cloth signifies unified and complete devotion to the task at hand, with no digression.[citation needed] Sikhs wear a turban as it is a part of their religion. The cleanliness of religious dresses in Eastern Religions like Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism is of paramount importance, since it indicates purity. Clothing figures prominently in the Bible where it appears in numerous contexts, the more prominent ones being: the story of Adam and Eve,Joseph's cloak, Judah and Tamar, Mordecai and Esther. Furthermore the priests officiating in the Temple had very specific garments, the lack of which made one liable to death. Jewish ritual also requires rending of one's upper garment as a sign of mourning. This practice is found in the Bible when Jacob hears of the apparent death of his son Joseph.[8]
[edit]Origin
and history
Main article: History of clothing See also: History of Western fashion and Category:History of clothing
[edit]First
recorded use
According to archaeologists and anthropologists, the earliest clothing likely consisted of fur, leather, leaves, or grass that were draped, wrapped, or tied around the body. Knowledge of such clothing remains inferential, since clothing materials deteriorate quickly compared to stone, bone, shell and metal artifacts. Archeologists have identified very early sewing needlesof bone and ivory from about 30,000 BC, found
near Kostenki, Russia in 1988.[9] Dyed flax fibers that could have been used in clothing have been found in a prehistoric cave in theRepublic of Georgia that date back to 36,000 BP.[10][11] Scientists are still debating when people started wearing clothes. Ralf Kittler, Manfred Kayser and Mark Stoneking, anthropologists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, have conducted a genetic analysis of human body lice that suggests clothing originated quite recently, around 107,000 years ago. Body lice is an indicator of clothes-wearing, since most humans have sparse body hair, and lice thus require human clothing to survive. Their research suggests the invention of clothing may have coincided with the northward migration of modern Homo sapiens away from the warm climate of Africa, thought to have begun between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago. However, a second group of researchers using similar genetic methods estimate that clothing originated around 540,000 years ago (Reed et al. 2004. PLoS Biology 2(11): e340). For now, the date of the origin of clothing remains unresolved.[citation needed]
[edit]Making
clothing
See also: Weaving, Knitting, and Twining Some human cultures, such as the various people of the Arctic Circle, make their clothing entirely of prepared and decorated furs and skins. Other cultures have supplemented or replaced leather and skins with cloth: woven, knitted, or twined from various animal and vegetable fibers. Although modern consumers may take the production of clothing for granted, making fabric by hand is a tedious and labor intensive process. That the textile industry was the first to be mechanized with the powered loom during the Industrial Revolution attests to this fact. Different cultures have evolved various ways of creating clothes out of cloth. One approach simply involves draping the cloth. Many people wore, and still wear, garments consisting of rectangles of cloth wrapped to fit for example, the dhoti for men and the sari for women in the Indian subcontinent, the Scottish kilt or the Javanese sarong. The clothes may simply be tied up, as is the case of the first two garments; or pins or belts hold the garments in place, as in the case of the latter two. The precious cloth remains uncut, and people of various sizesor the same person at different sizes can wear the garment. Another approach involves cutting and sewing the cloth, but using every bit of the cloth rectangle in constructing the clothing. The tailor may cut triangular pieces from one corner of the cloth, and then add them elsewhere as gussets. Traditional European patterns for men's shirts and women's chemises take this approach. Modern European fashion treats cloth much less conservatively, typically cutting in such a way as to leave various odd-shaped cloth remnants. Industrial sewing operations sell these as waste; home sewers may turn them into quilts.
In the thousands of years that humans have spent constructing clothing, they have created an astonishing array of styles, many of which have been reconstructed from surviving garments, photos, paintings, mosaics, etc., as well as from written descriptions. Costume history serves as a source of inspiration to current fashion designers, as well as a topic ofprofessional interest to costumers constructing for plays, films, television, and historical reenactment.
[edit]Contemporary
This section
clothing
requires expansion.
[edit]Spread
of western styles
By the early years of the 21st century, western clothing styles had, to some extent, become international styles. This process began hundreds of years earlier, during the periods of European colonialism. The process of cultural dissemination has perpetuated over the centuries as Western media corporations have penetrated markets throughout the world, spreading Western culture and styles. Fast fashion clothing has also become a global phenomenon. These garments are less expensive, mass-produced Western clothing. Donated used clothing from Western countries are also delivered to people in poor countries by charity organizations.
[edit]Ethnic
and cultural heritage
People may wear ethnic or national dress on special occasions or in certain roles or occupations. For example, most Korean men and women have adopted Western-style dress for daily wear, but still wear traditional hanboks on special occasions, like weddings and cultural holidays. Items of Western dress may also appear worn or accessorized in distinctive, non-Western ways. A Tongan man may combine a used T-shirt with a Tongan wrapped skirt, or tupenu.
[edit]Sport
and activity
A woman wearing a Polo Ralph Laurenshirt.
Most sports and physical activities are practiced wearing special clothing, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Common sportsweargarments include short pants, T-shirts, tennis shirts, tracksuits, and trainers. Specialized garments include wet suits (for swimming, diving orsurfing), salopettes (for skiing) and leotards (for gymnastics). Also, spandex materials are often used as base layers to soak up sweat. Spandex is also preferable for active sports that require form fitting garments, such as wrestling, track & field, dance, gymnastics and swimming.
[edit]Fashion
Main article: Fashion There exists a diverse range of styles in fashion, varying by geography, exposure to modern media, economic conditions, and ranging from expensive haute couture to traditional garb, to thrift store grunge.
[edit]Future
trends
The world of clothing is always changing, as new cultural influences meet technological innovations. Researchers in scientific labs have been developing prototypes for fabrics that can serve functional purposes well beyond their traditional roles, for example, clothes that can automatically adjust their temperature, repel bullets, project images, and generate electricity. Some practical advances already available to consumers are bullet-resistant garments made with kevlar and stain-resistant fabrics that are coated with chemical mixtures that reduce the absorption of liquids.
[edit]Political [edit]Working
issues
conditions
This section requires expansion.
Though mechanization transformed most aspects of human industry by the mid-20th century, garment workers have continued to labor under challenging conditions that demand repetitive manual labor. Mass-produced clothing is often made in what are considered by some to be sweatshops, typified by long work hours, lack of benefits, and lack of worker representation. While most examples of such conditions are found in developing countries, clothes made in industrialized nations may also be manufactured similarly, often staffed by undocumented immigrants.[citation needed] Coalitions of NGOs, designers (Katharine Hamnett, American Apparel, Veja, Quiksilver, eVocal, Edun,...) and campaign groups like the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) have sought to improve these conditions as much as possible by sponsoring awareness-raising events, which draw the attention of both the media and the general public to the workers. Outsourcing production to low wage countries like Bangladesh, China, India and Sri Lanka became possible when the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) was abolished. The MFA, which placed quotas on textiles imports, was deemed a protectionist measure.[citation needed] Globalization is often quoted as the single most contributing factor to the poor working conditionsof garment workers. Although many countries recognize treaties like the International Labor Organization, which attempt to set standards for worker safety and rights, many countries have made exceptions to certain parts of the treaties or failed to thoroughly enforce them. India for example has not ratified sections 87 and 92 of the treaty.[citation needed] Despite the strong reactions that "sweatshops" evoked among critics of globalization, the production of textiles has functioned as a consistent industry for developing nations providing work and wages, whether construed as exploitative or not, to thousands of people.
[edit]Fur
Main article: Fur clothing The use of animal fur in clothing dates to prehistoric times. It is currently associated in developed countries with expensive, designer clothing, although fur is still used by indigenous people in arctic zones and higher elevations for its warmth and protection. Once uncontroversial, it has recently been the focus of campaigns on the grounds that campaigners consider it cruel and unnecessary. PETA, along with other animal rights and animal liberation groups have called attention to fur farming and other practices they consider cruel.
[edit]Life
cycle
maintenance
[edit]Clothing
Clothing suffers assault both from within and without. The human body sheds skin cells and body oils, and exudes sweat, urine, and feces. From the outside, sun damage, moisture, abrasion and dirt assault garments. Fleas and lice can hide in seams. Worn clothing, if not cleaned and refurbished, itches, looks scruffy, and loses functionality (as when buttons fall off, seams come undone, fabrics thin or tear, and zippers fail). In some cases, people wear an item of clothing until it falls apart. Cleaning leather presents difficulties, and bark cloth (tapa) cannot be washed without dissolving it. Owners may patch tears and rips, and brush off surface dirt, but old leather and bark clothing always look old. But most clothing consists of cloth, and most cloth can be laundered and mended (patching, darning, but compare felt).
[edit]Laundry,
ironing, storage
Humans have developed many specialized methods for laundering, ranging from early methods of pounding clothes against rocks in running streams, to the latest in electronic washing machines and dry cleaning (dissolving dirt in solvents other than water). Hot water washing (boiling), chemical cleaning and ironing are all traditional methods of sterilizing fabrics forhygiene purposes. Many kinds of clothing are designed to be ironed before they are worn to remove wrinkles. Most modern formal and semi-formal clothing is in this category (for example, dress shirts andsuits). Ironed clothes are believed to look clean, fresh, and neat. Much contemporary casual clothing is made of knit materials that do not readily wrinkle, and do not require ironing. Some clothing is permanent press, having been treated with a coating (such as polytetrafluoroethylene) that suppresses wrinkles and creates a smooth appearance without ironing. Once clothes have been laundered and possibly ironed, they are usually hung on clothes hangers or folded, to keep them fresh until they are worn. Clothes are folded to allow them to be stored compactly, to prevent creasing, to preserve creases or to present them in a more pleasing manner, for instance when they are put on sale in stores. Many kinds of clothes are folded before they are put in suitcases as preparation for travel. Other clothes, such as suits, may be hung up in special garment bags, or rolled rather than folded. Many people use their clothing as packing material around fragile items that might otherwise break in transit.
[edit]Non-iron
A resin used for making non-wrinkle shirts releases formaldehyde, which could cause contact dermatitis for some people; no disclosure requirements exist, and in 2008 the U.S.Government Accountability Office tested formaldehyde in clothing and found that generally the highest levels were in non-wrinkle shirts and pants.[12] In
1999, a study of the effect of washing on the formaldehyde levels found that after 6 months after washing, 7 of 27 shirts had levels in excess of 75 ppm, which is a safety limit for direct skin exposure.[13]
[edit]Mending
In past times, mending was an art. A meticulous tailor or seamstress could mend rips with thread raveled from hems and seam edges so skillfully that the tear was practically invisible. When the raw material cloth was worth more than labor, it made sense to expend labor in saving it. Today clothing is considered a consumable item. Mass-manufactured clothing is less expensive than the labor required to repair it. Many people buy a new piece of clothing rather than spend time mending. The thrifty still replace zippers and buttons and sew up ripped hems.
[edit]Recycling
Used, unwearable clothing was once used for quilts, rags, rugs, bandages, and many other household uses. It could also be recycled into paper. Today, used clothing is usually thrown out or donated to charity. It is also sold to consignment shops, dress agencies and flea markets and in online auctions. There are many concerns about the life cycle of synthetics, which come primarily from petrochemicals.
[weasel words]
Unlike natural fibers, their source is not renewable (in less than millions of years) and they are not
biodegradable.
[edit]See
also
History of clothing and textiles Naturism (which includes nudism) Second hand store Thermoregulation Timeline of non-sexual social nudity Timeline of requisite dress in Western civilization
Nike vs adidas
From WikiVS, the open comparison website
Nike and adidas are sportswear companies whose products are popular around the world, while Nike has the upper hand in sales and sponserships, Adidas is growing rapidly. Adidas ownes Reebok, Taylor Made golf company and Rockport. Nike ownes Umbro, Hurley, Converse and Cole Haan.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
1.1 Adi das
1.2 Nik e
2 Motto 3 Footwear Technology
3.1 Adi das
3.2 Nik e
4 Targeted Sports 5 Sponsorships 6 Design 7 Notable 8 Links
[edit]History [edit]Adidas
The name ADIDAS stems from the name of the founder Adolf "Adi" Dassler. The best player was karin cardenas in the history. Also the word adidas came from the name Andy Dundon who help make the first adidas product. The iconic name can act to support the purpose of their products, standing for 'All day I dream about sport.'
[edit]Nike
The name came from the Greek name for the Goddess of Victory. The company was originally named "Blue Ribbon Sports."
[edit]Motto
Adidas' motto is "Impossible is nothing." Nike's motto is "Just do it."

[edit]
ADIDAS Show Rooms List

ADIDAS Locations All Over, ADIDAS Stores All Over India Addresses 0 comments
Adidas is preferred by youngsters as it is of very good quality. Now a days people goes after brands and Adidas is the best in it's domain. Adidas showroom and Store are allover India like Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hydebarad, New Delhi, Bangaluru, Goa, Guwahati, Noida, Gurgaon, Pune, Nagpur, Kerala, Chandigarh etc.
List of ADIDAS Showroom in India:

Adidas Exclusive Store - Saharanpur Address: Shop No-7, Janpath Complex, Saharanpur Adidas Exclusive Store- Kamla Park Address: Shop No 9, Kamla Park, Sangrur Adidas Exclusive Store - Sanjoli Address: Shop No. 5 & 6 , Chopra Complex, Sanjouli, Sanjoli Adidas Exclusive Store - Kharkana Address: Plot no 24, Servey No 60,61,62/1, I & II Floor, New, Secundarbad
Adidas Exclusive Store - Police Bazaar Address: O.B. Shopping Complex , Police Bazaar, Shillong Adidas Exclusive Store- Umsohsun Address: Umsohsun, Motphran, Shillong Adidas Exclusive Store- Shimla Address: New Capital Booth House,32, Mall Road, Shimla Adidas Exclusive Store- Cosmos Mall Address: Cosmos Mall, 2nd Mile, Sevoke Road, Opp State Electr, 734401, Siliguri Adidas Exclusive Store- Sirsa Address: Punjab National Bank Lane, Rori Bazaar,, 125 055, Sirsa Adidas Exclusive Store- Solan Address: Kwality Footwear, Main Bazaar, Solan Adidas Exclusive Store- Sonipat Address: Shop no 1034,1035, Buttan Factory Road, Subash Chowk, Sonipat Adidas Exclusive Store- Prozone Surat Address: 1404,1405, Iscon Mall, Damas Road, opp. Rajan Cinema, Surat Adidas Exclusive Store - Parle Point Address: Shop no 1, Platinium Plaza, Bharati Estate, Opp. VT, Surat Adidas Exclusive Store - Udaipur Address: 4A, Mahaveer Colony, Ashok Nagar, Main Road,, 313 001, Udaipur Adidas Exclusive Store- Varanasi Address: IP3 Mall, 14 Gokul Nagar, Kanchanpur, Varanasi Adidas Exclusive Store- JHV Mall, Varanas Address: JHV Mall, Varanasi, Varanasi Adidas Exclusive Store- Vijaywada Address: H No.40-1-161, MG Road Labbipet Opp. Reebok, Vijaywada Adidas Exclusive Store- Vizag Address: Atmakuri enterprises, 47-10-24, Sai Trade centre, Gr, 530016, Vizag Adidas Exclusive Store - Yamunanagar Address: SCO 172-173, Near Huda Office, Sector 17, Main Road,, Yamunanagar Adidas Exclusive Store - City 36 Mall Address: GE Road Opp. Hotel Ambrosia Raipur, Raipur Adidas Exclusive Store - Raipur Address: Shop No-7,Lal Ganga Shopping Mall,G.E Road,, 492001, Raipur Adidas Exclusive Store - Prozone Mall
Address: Prozone Mall, Ground Floor, 150 Ring Road, Rajkot Adidas Exclusive Store- Rampur Address: Near Income Tax office,National High-Way 22, Rampur Adidas Exclusive Store- Ranchi Address: Rospha Tower, 1st Floor, Main Road, Ranchi, Ranchi Adidas Exclusive Store- Recong Peo Address: M/s Raj Footwears, Main Bazaar, India Tibet Border P, 172107, Recong Peo Adidas Exclusive Store- Nangal Address: Shop -23, Main Market Nangal Township, Ropar Adidas Exclusive Store - Rothak Address: 28, Subhash Shopping Complex, Rothak Adidas Exclusive Store - Rourkela Address: Indera Leathers, Kesar Bhawan, Main Road, Rourkela Adidas Exclusive Store- Rudrapur Address: Shop No. 35 and 36, Shri Guru Angad Dev Complex, Nai, Rudrapur Adidas Exclusive Store - Karol Bagh Address: 13/8, WEA,Padam Singh Road,Karol Bagh, New Delhi Adidas Store - Preet Vihar Address: 2, Shankar Vihar, Vikas Marg, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Pitampura Address: 20, Kapil Vihar, North Extension, Pitampura, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Khan Market Address: 36-B Khan Market, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Vasant Vihar Address: 48/5 Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Ansal Plaza Address: BG-05, Ansal Plaza, Khelgaon Marg, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Malviya Nagar Address: C-3, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Rohini Address: C-8/12, Sector-7, Rohini, 110085, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Rajouri Garden, Address: F-132, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Janakpuri Address: G-14, Jaina Tower, Janak Place, District Centre, Jan, New Delhi
Adidas Exclusive Store - TDI Rajouri gard Address: GF-04 TDI mall, Rajori Garden, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Greater Kailash Address: M-45 , GK 1, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - adidas square Address: Pratap Building, N- 45, Connaught Circus, 110 001, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Westgate Mall Address: Shop # 23-24, West Gate Mall, Shiva ji Place, Raja G, 110 027, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Jawahar Nagar Address: Shop No 2, 16-UB Jawahar Nagar, Bunglow Road, 110007, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Shop In Park Mall Address: Shop no. 108 & 109, First Floor, Shop In Park Mall,, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Saket Address: Shop-5 Gr Floor, Community Centre, Malviya Nagar Ext, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Unitech Address: Unitech mall,GA 20, Sector -7 Market, Rohini, New Delhi Adidas Exclusive Store - Muradabad Address: 3, Deepak Building, Budh Bazaar, Station Road, Muradabad Adidas Exclusive Store - Mussoorie Address: Shop No. 7, Mayfields Shops Block, Mayfield Estate, Kulri, Mussorie, Mussoorie Adidas Exclusive Store - Mysore Address: Devraj URS Road, Mysore Adidas Exclusive Store - High Court Road Address: Shop No 1B, 23 & 3, Gomti Appartment, West High Court Road, Nagpur Adidas Exclusive Store - High Court Road Address: Shop no.123 Gomti Apartment Law College Square, West, Nagpur Adidas Exclusive Store - Nangal Address: Shop -23, Main Market Nangal Township, District Ropar, Punjab, Nangal Adidas Exclusive Store - Nashik Address: G-4, SK Open Mall, Near BYK College, College Road, Nashik Adidas Exclusive Store - Nawanshar Address: Shop no 12,13,14, KS Plaza,Chandigarh Highway, Nawanshar Adidas Store - Centre Stage Mall Address: L1 CentreStage Mall, Sector 18, Noida Adidas Exclusive Store - Unitech, Noida Address: Shop no 126, First Floor,The Great India Place, Sect, Noida
Adidas Exclusive Store - Centre Stage Mal Address: Unit No. 17,18,26,27 Ground Floor, L1 CentreStage Ma, Noida Adidas Exclusive Store - Center Stage Mall Address: L1 Centrestage Mall, Sectore 18, Noida Adidas Exclusive Store - Palampur Address: InTouch Apparels, Main Market,176061, Palampur Adidas Exclusive Store - Panchkula Address: New Dress Zone ,SCO 35,Sector 11 , Panchkula, 134190, Panchkula Adidas Exclusive Store - Mittal Mall Address: Shop no G9,10, Mittal Mega Mall, Sector-25 (II), Panipat Adidas Exclusive Store - Magnum Centre Address: 6, Magnum Center, M.G.Road, Panjim Adidas Exclusive Store - MG Road Address: 7/8 Mascarenhas Bldg,M.G Road, Panjim Adidas Exclusive Store - Pathankot Address: Below LG Shoppe, Mann Market, Pathankot Adidas Exclusive Store - Patiala Address: 26, Bhupindra Road, Opp.-Caf?? Coffee Day,, Patiala Adidas Exclusive Store - Aashiana Towers Address: G-6, Grand Palza Frazer Road, Patna Adidas Store - Pinjore Shimla Highway Address: Pinjore Shimla Highway, Pinjore Adidas Store - Jawahar Lal Nehru Street Address: F-20-22,No - 100, Jawahar Lal Nehru Street, 605001, Pondichery Adidas Exclusive Store - Powai Address: G2,BG House (GF),Lake Boulevard Road, Hiranandani Bu, 400076, Powai Adidas Exclusive Store - Kothrud Address: 16/1, Parvati Chambers, Sangam Press Road,Opp. Karis, 411038, Pune Adidas Exclusive Store - MG Road Address: 318, MG Road, Next to Central Bank, Camp, 411001, Pune Adidas Exclusive Store - JM Road Address: Indira Bhavan, 1205/3/1, Jangli Maharaj Road, 411004, Pune Adidas Exclusive Store - Kakade, Pune Address: Kakade Mall,Shop no 8, Lower ground Floor,, 411 001, Pune Adidas Exclusive Store - FC Road Pune
Address: Millenium Plaza, Opposite Fergusson College, Pune, Pune Adidas Exclusive Store - MG Road Address: Shop no 12,Sterling Building,11,Moledine Road, Pune Adidas Exclusive Store - Koregaon Park, Pune Address: Webgate Cyber Services, Adjacent to Prems Restaurant, Pune Adidas Exclusive Store - Mariplex - Pune Address: Shop No 23, 1st Floor, Vadgaonsheri, Kalyani Nagar, Gold adlabs shopping Mall, Pune, 411014, Pune Adidas Exclusive Store - East end Mall Address: adidas Store,Shop No. G-10-13, East End Mall, Gomti, 227 106, Lucknow Adidas Exclusive Store - Alambagh Address: Ground Floor, 565/137, Pooran agar, Alambagh, Lucknow Adidas Exclusive Store - Lucknow, Sahara Address: Shop 115,Saharaganj Mall, Mohalla Hazrat Ganj, Luckn, Lucknow Adidas Exclusive Store - Halwasia Address: Unit A,Halwasia House,11 Mg Marg,Hazratganj, Lucknow Adidas Exclusive Store - Flamez Mall, Ludh Address: Flamez Mall, Ludhiana, Ludhiana Adidas Exclusive Store - Elite Arcade Address: GF-201, Elite Arcade, Mall Road,, Ludhiana Adidas Exclusive Store - Malerkotla Address: College Road, Malerkotla, 148 023, Malerkotla Adidas Exclusive Store - Mandi Address: Shop no. 442, Mangwain Mohalla, Mandi Town, Mandi-17, Mandi Adidas Exclusive Store - Essel Centre,Man Address: Shop No. 2, Ground Floor, Essel Centre, MG Road, Mangalore Adidas Exclusive Store - Meerut Address: 313, Abu Lane, Opp Nishant Cinema, 250001, Meerut Adidas Exclusive Store - Melange Mall Address: Shop no. 1,2,&3, Ground Floor, Melange Mall, C-8, 9, 250 010, Meerut Adidas Exclusive Store - Moga Address: SCF-18, Bhagat Singh Market, G.T. Road Moga, Moga Adidas Exclusive Store - Mohali Address: SCO 33, Phase 7, Mohali Adidas Exclusive Store - Palm Beach Galle Addess: adidas Shop, Palm Beach Galleria, Palm Beach Road, s, Mumbai
Adidas Exclusive Store - Linking Road Address: Deep Jyoti Bldg, Linking Road, 537, Near Telephone E, 400052, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store - Powai Address: G2,BG House (GF),Lake Boulevard Road, Hiranandani Bu, 400076, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store - AK Plaza Address: GF & FF-E&F, AK Plaza, Goregaon, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store - Borivli (West) Address: Legend Clothing,S.V Road,Avirahi Apartment,Ground Floor,, 400092, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store - Colaba Address: M/s Empire Footwear, 1 & 2 York House, 400039, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store- Linking Road (W) Address: New Kamal co - operative housing society, Plot No.24, 400052, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store - S.V.Road, Andher Address: Opp.Shoppers' Stop, S.V.Road, Andheri (W), 400058, Mumbai Adidas Store - Santacruz Address: Plaza Asiad,Junction of SV Road and Station Road, 400 054, Mumbai Adidas Store - Linking Road (W) Address: Plot No.248, TPS 3 , Linking Road, 400052, Mumbai Adidas Store - Ashok Super Market Address: S.V. Road Opp Flimistan Studio. Goregaon (W), Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store- Ram Maruti Address: Shop No 2,3 Jeevan Chhaya, Ram Maruti Road, Naupada,, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store - Infinity Mall Address: Shop no:109,1st Floor, Infiniti Mall, Link Rd., Oshi, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store- Parel Address: Willington House , Dr.Ambedkar Road , Parel, Mumbai Adidas Exclusive Store - Kaithal Address: Beside Liberty Hotel,Near Bus Stand,Pawa Chowk, Kaithal Adidas Exclusive Store - Rave Moti Address: GF shop no 2 & 3, Rave Moti, 117/526, Pandu Nagar, 2, Kanpur Adidas Exclusive Store - Karnal Address: Kunjpura Road,Karnal, Karnal Adidas Exclusive Store- Gariahat, Kolkat Address: 135, Rashbehari Avenue, Kolkata, 700029, Kolkata Adidas Exclusive Store- Elgin Road
Address: 201, Forum, 10/3 Lala Lajpath Roy Sarani ( Elgin Rd), Kolkata Adidas Exclusive Store- Salt Lake Addres: City Center, Salt Lake, Kolkata Adidas Exclusive Store- Chowringhee Address: Grand Hotel Arcade, Chowringhee, Kolkata Adidas Exclusive Store- South City Address: Shop no. 114, First Floor, Premise no. 375, Prnice A, Kolkata Adidas Exclusive Store - Camac Street Address: 21 Camac Street, 700016, Kolkatta Adidas Exclusive Store- Kota Address: 209, Gumanpura, Kotri Road, 324 007, Kota Adidas Exclusive Store - Kullu Address: Akhara Bazaar,Kullu, Kullu Adidas Exclusive Store- Kurukshetra Address: Sec-17, SOC-53, Kurukshetra Adidas Exclusive Store - Kurukshetra Address: Sec-17, SOC-53, Kurukshetra Adidas Exclusive Store - Haldwani Address: Vinika Towers, Shasthri Kunj, Opposite Nagar Palika,, 263139, Haldwani Adidas Exclusive Store - Hanumangarh Address: Ground Floor, Ridhi Sidhi Market, Opposite PNB, Hanu, 335513, Hanumangarh Adidas Exclusive Store - Haridwar Address: Plot No. 13, Naya Haridwar Colony, Chandra Chaurya, Chowk, Jwalapur, Haridwar, Haridwar Adidas Exclusive Store- Guru Jambeshwar Address: Guru Jambeshwar Market, below Suraj Hotel, Opp Parij, Hissar Adidas Exclusive Store- Jubliee Hills Address: 1-98/6/28 & 1-98/6/50, Arunodaya CO-Op, Housing Soci, Hyderabad Adidas Exclusive Store - Banjara Hills Address: Footneeds, Uma Chambers Near Nagarjuna Circle Road N, Hyderabad Adidas Exclusive Store - Citi Centre, Hyd Address: Ground Floor -15,Citi Center Mall,Shop no 8-2-592,Ro, Hyderabad Adidas Store - Banjara Hills Address: Near Nagarjuna Circle Road No: 1 Banjara Hills, Hyderabad Adidas Exclusive Store- Banjara Hills Address: Road No 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad
Adidas Exclusive Store - Kukatpally Address: Shop no 529, Sriniwas Complex, Vivek Nagar,Kukatpall, Hyderabad Adidas Store - Habsiguda Address: Shradha complex, street No - 8, Habisuguda, 500017, Hyderabad Adidas Exclusive Store - Paona Bazar Address: Paona Bazar, Imphal adidas exclusive storeAdidas Exclusive Store Address: Shop No 20 & 47, Ist Floor, Mangal City Mall, AB Roa, 452001, Indore Adidas Exclusive Store - Treasure Island Address: Treasure Island Mall, MG Road, 452001, Indore Adidas Exclusive Store - Sector C Address: Sector-C, Below Hotel Kosing, Itanagar Adidas Exclusive Store - Jabalpur Address: Ronak Complex Gorakhpur Market, Jabalpur Adidas Exclusive Store- MI Road Address: Ground floor, Ratan Bhawan, Near Natraj Restaurant,, Jaipur Adidas Exclusive Store- Crystal Palm, Jai Address: Shop No. 24, 25, 26. Ground floor, Crystal Palm, C-s, Jaipur Adidas Exclusive Store- Jaipur Address: Shree ram Emporiem, 12/B, Govind Marg, Adarsh Nagar, Jaipur Adidas Exclusive Store- Jaipur, Vaishali Address: The Crown Plaza, Shop No-06, Main Amrapali Marg, Vai, 302021, Jaipur Adidas Exclusive Store- Model Town Marke Address: 301, R Model Town Market, Jalandhar Adidas Exclusive Store- Jallandhar Phagwa Address: Near Haveli Restaurant, Jalandhar-Phagwara Highway, Jalandhar Adidas Exclusive Store- Jammu Address: Apsara Road, Opp.-Apsara Cinema, Gandhi Nagar,, 180 004, Jammu Adidas Exclusive Store- Kashmir Square Mall Address: Yugal Sons Fashion Pvt Ltd,Shop -5 ,Kashmir Mall,Exhibition Road ,Jammu, Jammu Adidas Exclusive Store - Jhajjar Address: Main Bazaar, Near Old Post Office, Jhajjar Adidas Exclusive Store - Jodhpur Address: Shop #1, C-Road, Sardarpura Market, 342 003, Jodhpur
Adidas Exclusive Store- Jodhpur Addres: Kinetic workshop, Residency Road, jodhpur, Jodhpur Adidas Exclusive Store- Jorhat Address: adidas Showroom, Garali, opp.World View, Jorhat-1, Jorhat Adidas Exclusive Store - Darjeeling Address: Shop no 12 & 17, Rink Mall, Darjeeling Adidas Exclusive Store - Dehradun Address: 103, AMIPY Shopping complex, Rajpur Road, Dehradun Adidas Exclusive Store - Dhanbad Address: "City Centre", Luby Circular Road, Dhanbad Adidas Exclusive Store - Chisi Market Address: Circular Road,Opp Chisi Market, 797112, Dimapur Adidas Exclusive Store - Sec - 15, Faridabad Address: SCF-57 Sec-15, Faridabad, 121002, Faridabad Adidas Exclusive Store - Crown Interioz Mall Address: Shop no. 42 & 43, Crown Interioz Mall, 12/7, Sector 35, Delhi Mathura Rd, NH-2, 121003, Faridabad Adidas Exclusive Store - Ganganagar Address: 51,N-Block (Opp Bhatia Petrol pump),Gaushala Road, 335001, Ganganagar Adidas Exclusive Store- Gangtok Address: Metro Point, Below Vijaya Bank, M.G.Marg, 737101, Gangtok Adidas Exclusive Store- Deorali Bazar Address: SNOD Shopping Complex, Deorali Bazar, 737107, Gangtok Adidas Exclusive Store- Pacific Mall Address: Shop No. 5/6, Ground Floor, Pacific Mall, Ghaziabad Adidas Exclusive Store - Shipra Mall Address: Shop No.82 & 83, Upper Ground Floor, Shipra Mall, Sh, Ghaziabad Adidas Exclusive Store - Gorakhpur Address: LGF 26,27 Manglam tower, Gorakhpur Adidas Exclusive Store- City Mall Address: SHOP NO 14-15, FIRST FLOOR, CITY MALL, GORAKHPUR, Gorakhpur Adidas Exclusive Store - Ambi Mall, Gurgao Address: Ambi Mall, Ambience Island, NH-8, Gurgaon Adidas Exclusive Store- Mega City Address: Mega City Mall, Gurgaon, Gurgaon
Adidas Exclusive Store - M.G.F. Mall Address: Shop NO 124, First floor, MGF Mall, MG Road, Gurgaon Adidas Exclusive Store- City Centre Mall Address: Shop No.2, City Center Mall, MG Road, Gurgaon Adidas Exclusive Store - G S Road Address: Ulubari, G.S. Road, 781007, Guwahati Adidas Exclusive Store - Sector 35 Address: SCO 413-414, Sec 35, Chandigarh Adidas Exclusive Store - SCO 6 , Sector 1 Address: SCO-6, Sec 17-E, Chandigarh Adidas Exclusive Store - Kodambakkam, Che Address: 347/1,Arcot Road , Chennai, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - Nungambakkam Address: 36/1 Dwarka, Uttamar Gandhi Salai, Nungambakkam, 600034, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - T nagar, Chennai Address: C/o Comfy shoemakers pvt ltd, Allied citi towers, No, 600017, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - Citi Centre, Che Address: C/o Vaishanives, shop no - 7, 2nd Floor, Chennai cit, 600004, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - Anna Nagar Address: D-74, Anna Nagar (East) , Opp Naidu Hall, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - Spencer Plaza Address: G - 129, 3rd Phase, Ground Floor, Spencer Plaza, Ann, 600002, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - T nagar, Chennai Address: No - 117, Thyagaraya Road, 600017, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - TTK Road Address: No - 65, TTk Road, Alwarpet, 600018, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - NM Road Address: Opportunity Tower, New No 122, Old No 38, Nelson Man, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - Purushawalkam, Ch Address: Purushawalkam, Chennai, Chennai Adidas Store - Citi Centre Address: Radha krishna Road, Mylapore, 600004, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - Citi Centre Address: Radha Krishna Road, Mylapore, Chennai Adidas Exclusive Store - Baypride Mall, C
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Steel
The steel cable of a colliery winding tower
Iron alloy phasesv d e

Ferrite (-iron, -iron) Austenite (-iron) Pearlite (88% ferrite, 12% cementite) Martensite Bainite Ledeburite (ferrite-cementite eutectic, 4.3% carbon) Cementite (iron carbide, Fe3C) Beta ferrite (-iron)
Hexaferrum (-iron) Steel classes
Crucible steel Carbon steel (2.1% carbon; low alloy) Spring steel (low or no alloy) Alloy steel (contains non-carbon elements) Maraging steel (contains nickel) Stainless steel (contains 10.5% chromium) Weathering steel Tool steel (alloy steel for tools) Other iron-based materials
Cast iron (>2.1% carbon) Ductile iron Gray iron Malleable iron White iron Wrought iron (contains slag)
For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, andtungsten.[1] Carbon and other elements act as a hardening agent, preventing dislocations in the iron atom crystal lattice from sliding past one another. Varying the amount of alloying elements and the form of their presence in the steel (solute elements, precipitated phase) controls qualities such as the hardness, ductility, and tensile strength of the resulting steel. Steel with increased carbon content can be made harder and stronger than iron, but such steel is also less ductile than iron. Alloys with a higher than 2.1% carbon content are known as cast iron because of their lower melting point and good castability.[1] Steel is also distinguishable from wrought iron,
which can contain a small amount of carbon, but it is included in the form of slag inclusions. Two distinguishing factors are steel's increased rust resistance and better weldability. Though steel had been produced by various inefficient methods long before the Renaissance, its use became more common after more-efficient production methods were devised in the 17th century. With the invention of the Bessemer process in the mid19th century, steel became an inexpensive mass-produced material. Further refinements in the process, such as basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), lowered the cost of production while increasing the quality of the metal. Today, steel is one of the most common materials in the world, with more than 1.3 billion tons produced annually. It is a major component in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, automobiles, machines, appliances, and weapons. Modern steel is generally identified by various grades defined by assorted standards organizations.
Contents
[hide]
1 Material properties
1.1 Heat treatment
2 Steel production 3 History of steelmaking
3.1 Ancient steel 3.2 Wootz steel and Damascus steel
3.3 Modern steelmaking
3.3.1 Processes starting from bar iron
3.3.2 Processes starting from pig iron
4 Steel industry 5 Recycling 6 Contemporary steel 7 Uses
7.1 Historical 7.2 Long steel 7.3 Flat carbon steel 7.4 Stainless steel 7.5 Low-background steel
8 See also 9 References
9.1 Bibliography
10 Further reading 11 External links
[edit]Material
properties
Iron-carbon phase diagram, showing the conditions necessary to form different phases
Iron is found in the Earth's crust only in the form of an ore, i.e., combined with other elements such asoxygen or sulfur.[2] Typical iron-containing minerals include Fe2O3the form of iron oxide found as themineral hematite, and FeS2pyrite (fool's gold).[3] Iron is extracted from ore by removing oxygen and combining the ore with a preferred chemical partner such as carbon. This process, known as smelting, was first applied to metals with lower melting points, such as tin, which melts at approximately 250 C (482 F)and copper, which melts at approximately 1,100 C (2,010 F). In comparison, cast iron melts at approximately 1,375 C (2,507 F). All of these temperatures could be reached with ancient methods that have been used since the Bronze Age. Since the oxidation rate itself increases rapidly beyond 800 C(1,470 F), it is important that smelting take place in a lowoxygen environment. Unlike copper and tin, liquid iron dissolves carbon quite readily. Smelting results in an alloy (pig iron) containing too much carbon to be called steel.[4] The excess carbon and other impurities are removed in a subsequent step. Other materials are often added to the iron/carbon mixture to produce steel with desired properties. Nickeland manganese in steel add to its tensile strength and make austenite more chemically stable, chromium increases hardness and melting temperature, and vanadium also increases hardness while reducing the effects of metal fatigue. To prevent corrosion, at least 11% chromium is added to steel so that a hard oxideforms on the metal surface; this is known as stainless steel. Tungsten interferes with the formation of cementite, allowing martensite to form with slower quench rates, resulting in high speed steel. On the other hand, sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus make steel more brittle, so these commonly found elements must be removed from the ore during processing.[5] The density of steel varies based on the alloying constituents, but usually ranges between 7,750 and 8,050 kg/m3 (484 and 503 lb/cu ft), or 7.75 and 8.05 g/cm3 (4.48 and 4.65 oz/cu in).[6] Even in the narrow range of concentrations which make up steel, mixtures of carbon and iron can form a number of different structures, with very different properties. Understanding such properties is essential to making quality steel. At room temperature, the most stable form of iron is the body-centered cubic (BCC) structure -ferrite. It is a fairly soft metallic material that can dissolve only a small concentration of carbon, no more than 0.021 wt% at 723 C (1,333 F), and only 0.005% at 0 C (32 F). If steel contains more than 0.021% carbon at steelmaking temperatures then it transforms into a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, called austenite or -iron. It is also soft and metallic but can dissolve considerably more carbon, as much as 2.1%[7] carbon at 1,148 C (2,098 F), which reflects the upper carbon content of steel.[8]
When steels with less than 0.8% carbon, known as a hypoeutectoid steel, are cooled from an austenitic phase the mixture attempts to revert to the ferrite phase, resulting in an excess of carbon. One way for carbon to leave the austenite is for cementite to precipitate out of the mix, leaving behind iron that is pure enough to take the form of ferrite, resulting in a cementite-ferrite mixture. Cementite is a hard and brittle intermetallic compound with the chemical formula of Fe3C. At the eutectoid, 0.8% carbon, the cooled structure takes the form ofpearlite, named after its resemblance to mother of pearl. For steels that have more than 0.8% carbon the cooled structure takes the form of pearlite and cementite.[9] Perhaps the most important polymorphic form is martensite, a metastable phase which is significantly stronger than other steel phases. When the steel is in an austenitic phase and then quenched it forms into martensite, because the atoms "freeze" in place when the cell structure changes from FCC to BCC. Depending on the carbon content the martensitic phase takes different forms. Below approximately 0.2% carbon it takes an ferrite BCC crystal form, but higher carbon contents take a body-centered tetragonal (BCT) structure. There is no thermal activation energy for the transformation from austenite to martensite. Moreover, there is no compositional change so the atoms generally retain their same neighbors.[10] Martensite has a lower density than austenite does, so that transformation between them results in a change of volume. In this case, expansion occurs. Internal stresses from this expansion generally take the form of compression on the crystals of martensite and tension on the remaining ferrite, with a fair amount of shear on both constituents. If quenching is done improperly, the internal stresses can cause a part to shatter as it cools. At the very least, they cause internal work hardening and other microscopic imperfections. It is common for quench cracks to form when water quenched, although they may not always be visible.[11]
[edit]Heat
treatment
Main article: Heat treating carbon steel There are many types of heat treating processes available to steel. The most common are annealing and quenching and tempering. Annealing is the process of heating the steel to a sufficiently high temperature to soften it. This process occurs through three phases: recovery, recrystallization, and grain growth. The temperature required to anneal steel depends on the type of annealing and the constituents of the alloy.[12]
Quenching and tempering first involves heating the steel to the austenite phase, then quenching it in water or oil. This rapid cooling results in a hard and brittle martensitic structure.[10]The steel is then tempered, which is just a specialized type of annealing. In this application the annealing (tempering) process transforms some of the martensite into cementite, orspheroidite to reduce internal stresses and defects, which ultimately results in a more ductile and fracture-resistant metal.[13]
[edit]Steel
production
Iron ore pellets for the production of steel
Main article: Steelmaking See also: Steel production by country When iron is smelted from its ore by commercial processes, it contains more carbon than is desirable. To become steel, it must be melted and reprocessed to reduce the carbon to the correct amount, at which point other elements can be added. This liquid is then continuously castinto long slabs or cast into ingots. Approximately 96% of steel is continuously cast, while only 4% is produced as cast steel ingots.[14] The ingots are then heated in a soaking pit and hot rolled into slabs, blooms, or billets. Slabs are hot or cold rolled into sheet metal or plates. Billets are hot or cold rolled into bars, rods, and wire. Blooms are hot or cold rolled into structural steel, such as I-beams and rails. In modernfoundries these processes often occur in one assembly line, with ore coming in and finished steel coming out.
[15]
Sometimes after a steel's final rolling it is heat treated for strength, however this is
relatively rare.[16]
[edit]History
of steelmaking
Bloomery smelting during theMiddle Ages
Main article: History of ferrous metallurgy

[edit]Ancient
steel
Steel was known in antiquity, and may have been produced by managing bloomeries, ironsmelting facilities, where the bloom contained carbon.[17] The earliest known production of steel is a piece of ironware excavated from an archaeological site in Anatolia (Kaman-Kalehoyuk) and is about 4,000 years old.[18] Other ancient steel comes from East Africa, dating back to 1400 BC.[19] In the 4th century BC steel weapons like the Falcata were produced in the Iberian Peninsula, while Noric steel was used by the Roman military.[20] The Chinese of the Warring States (403221 BC) had quench-hardened steel,[21] while Chinese of the Han Dynasty (202 BC 220 AD) created steel by melting together wrought iron with cast iron, gaining an ultimate product of a carbon-intermediate steel by the 1st century AD.[22][23] The Haya people of East Africa discovered a type of high-heat blast furnace which allowed them to forge carbon steel at 1,802 C (3,276 F) nearly 2,000 years ago.[24] This ability was not duplicated until centuries later in Europe during the Industrial Revolution.
[edit]Wootz
steel and Damascus steel
Main articles: Wootz steel and Damascus steel Evidence of the earliest production of high carbon steel in the Indian Subcontinent was found in Samanalawewa area in Sri Lanka.[25] Wootz steel was produced in India by about 300 BC.[26] Along with their original methods of forging steel, the Chinese had also adopted the production methods of creating Wootz steel, an idea imported into China from India by the 5th century AD.[27] In Sri Lanka, this early steel-making method employed the unique use of a wind furnace, blown by the monsoon winds, that was capable of producing high-carbon steel.[28] Also known as Damascus steel, wootz is famous for its durability and ability to hold an edge. It was originally created from a number of different materials including various trace elements. It was essentially a complicated alloy with iron as its main component. Recent studies have suggested that carbon nanotubes were included in its structure, which might explain some of its legendary qualities, though given the technology available at that time, they were produced by chance rather than by design.[29] Natural wind was used where the soil containing iron was heated up with the use of wood. The ancient Sinhalese managed to extract a ton of steel for every 2 tons of soil[citation needed], a remarkable feat at the time. One such furnace was found in Samanalawewa and archaeologists were able to produce steel as the ancients did long ago.[28][30] Crucible steel, formed by slowly heating and cooling pure iron and carbon (typically in the form of charcoal) in a crucible, was produced in Merv by the 9th to 10th century AD.[26] In the 11th century, there is evidence of the production of steel in Song China using two techniques: a "berganesque" method that produced inferior, inhomogeneous steel and a precursor to the modern Bessemer process that utilized partial decarbonization via repeated forging under a cold blast.[31]
[edit]Modern
steelmaking
A Bessemer converter in Sheffield, England
Since the 17th century the first step in European steel production has been the smelting of iron ore into pig iron in a blast furnace.[32] Originally using charcoal, modern methods use coke, which has proven to be a great deal cheaper.[33][34][35]
[edit]Processes starting from bar iron
Main articles: Blister steel and Crucible steel In these processes pig iron was "fined" in a finery forge to produce bar iron (wrought iron), which was then used in steel-making.[32] The production of steel by the cementation process was described in a treatise published in Prague in 1574 and was in use in Nuremberg from 1601. A similar process for case hardening armour and files was described in a book published in Naples in 1589. The process was introduced to England in about 1614.[36] It was produced by Sir Basil Brooke at Coalbrookdale during the 1610s. The raw material for this were bars of wrought iron. During the 17th century it was realised that the best steel came from oregrounds iron from a region of Sweden, north of Stockholm. This was still the usual raw material in the 19th century, almost as long as the process was used.[37][38] Crucible steel is steel that has been melted in a crucible rather than being forged, with the result that it is more homogeneous. Most previous furnaces could not reach high enough temperatures to melt the steel. The early modern crucible steel industry resulted from the
invention of Benjamin Huntsmanin the 1740s. Blister steel (made as above) was melted in a crucible or in a furnace, and cast (usually) into ingots.[38][39]
[edit]Processes starting from pig iron
A Siemens-Martin steel oven from theBrandenburg Museum of Industry
White-hot steel pouring out of an electric arc furnace
The modern era in steelmaking began with the introduction of Henry Bessemer's Bessemer process in 1858. His raw material was pig iron.[40] This enabled steel to be produced in large quantities cheaply, thus mild steel is now used for most purposes for which wrought iron was formerly used.[41] The Gilchrist-Thomas process (or basic Bessemer process) was an improvement to the Bessemer process, lining the converter with a basic material to remove phosphorus. Another improvement in steelmaking was the Siemens-Martin process, which complemented the Bessemer process.[38] These were rendered obsolete by the Linz-Donawitz process of basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), developed in the 1950s, and other oxygen steelmaking processes.
Basic oxygen steelmaking is superior to previous steelmaking methods because the oxygen pumped into the furnace limits impurities.[42] Now, electric arc furnaces (EAF) are a common method of reprocessing scrap metal to create new steel. They can also be used for converting pig iron to steel, but they use a great deal of electricity (about 440 kWh per metric ton), and are thus generally only economical when there is a plentiful supply of cheap electricity.[43]
[edit]Steel
industry
A steel plant in the United Kingdom
Steel production by country in 2007
See also: History of the modern steel industry, Global steel industry trends, Steel production by country, and List of steel producers It is common today to talk about "the iron and steel industry" as if it were a single entity, but historically they were separate products. The steel industry is often considered to be an indicator of economic progress, because of the critical role played by steel in infrastructural and overalleconomic development.[44] In 1980, there were more than 500,000 U.S. steelworkers. By 2000, the number of steelworkers fell to 224,000.[45]
The economic boom in China and India has caused a massive increase in the demand for steel in recent years. Between 2000 and 2005, world steel demand increased by 6%. Since 2000, several Indian [46] and Chinese steel firms have risen to prominence like Tata Steel (which bought Corus Group in 2007), Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation and Shagang Group. ArcelorMittal is however the world's largest steel producer. In 2005, the British Geological Survey stated China was the top steel producer with about one-third of the world share; Japan, Russia, and the US followed respectively.[47] In 2008, steel started to be traded as a commodity in the London Metal Exchange. At the end of 2008, the steel industry faced a sharp downturn that led to many cut-backs.[48]
[edit]Recycling
Main article: Ferrous metal recycling

[edit]Contemporary
steel
Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was one of the world's largest manufacturers of steel before its 2003 closure.
See also: Steel grades Modern steels are made with varying combinations of alloy metals to fulfill many purposes.
[5] [1]
Carbon steel, composed simply of iron and carbon, accounts for 90% of steel production. High strength low alloy steel has small additions (usually < 2% by weight) of other
elements, typically 1.5% manganese, to provide additional strength for a modest price increase.[49] Low alloy steel is alloyed with other elements, usuallymolybdenum, manganese, chromium, or nickel, in amounts of up to 10% by weight to improve the hardenability of thick sections.[1] Stainless steels and surgical stainless steels contain a
minimum of 11% chromium, often combined with nickel, to resist corrosion (rust). Some stainless steels are magnetic, while others are nonmagnetic.[50] Some more modern steels include tool steels, which are alloyed with large amounts of tungsten and cobalt or other elements to maximizesolution hardening. This also allows the use of precipitation hardening and improves the alloy's temperature resistance.[1] Tool steel is generally used in axes, drills, and other devices that need a sharp, long-lasting cutting edge. Other special-purpose alloys include weathering steels such as Cor-ten, which weather by acquiring a stable, rusted surface, and so can be used un-painted.[51] Many other high-strength alloys exist, such as dual-phase steel, which is heat treated to contain both a ferritic and martensitic microstructure for extra strength.[52] Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steel involves special alloying and heat treatments to stabilize amounts of austentite at room temperature in normally austentite-free low-alloy ferritic steels. By applying strain to the metal, the austentite undergoes a phase transition to martensite without the addition of heat.[53] Maraging steel is alloyed with nickel and other elements, but unlike most steel contains almost no carbon at all. This creates a very strong but still malleable metal.[54] Twinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steel uses a specific type of strain to increase the effectiveness of work hardening on the alloy.[55] Eglin Steel uses a combination of over a dozen different elements in varying amounts to create a relatively low-cost metal for use in bunker buster weapons. Hadfield steel (after Sir Robert Hadfield) or manganese steel contains 1214% manganese which when abraded forms an incredibly hard skin which resists wearing. Examples include tank tracks, bulldozer blade edges and cutting blades on the jaws of life.[56] Most of the more commonly used steel alloys are categorized into various grades by standards organizations. For example, the Society of Automotive Engineers has a series of gradesdefining many types of steel.[57] The American Society for Testing and Materials has a separate set of standards, which define alloys such as A36 steel, the most commonly used structural steel in the United States.[58] Though not an alloy, galvanized steel is a commonly used variety of steel which has been hot-dipped or electroplated in zinc for protection against rust.[59]
[edit]Uses
A roll of steel wool
Iron and steel are used widely in the construction of roads, railways, other infrastructure, appliances, and buildings. Most large modern structures, such as stadiums and skyscrapers, bridges, and airports, are supported by a steel skeleton. Even those with a concrete structure will employ steel for reinforcing. In addition, it sees widespread use in major appliances and cars. Despite growth in usage of aluminium, it is still the main material for car bodies. Steel is used in a variety of other construction materials, such as bolts, nails, and screws.[60] Other common applications include shipbuilding, pipeline transport, mining, offshore construction, aerospace, white goods (e.g. washing machines),heavy equipment such as bulldozers, office furniture, steel wool, tools, and armour in the form of personal vests or vehicle armour (better known as rolled homogeneous armour in this role).
[edit]Historical
A carbon steel knife
Before the introduction of the Bessemer process and other modern production techniques, steel was expensive and was only used where no cheaper alternative existed, particularly for the cutting edge of knives, razors, swords, and other items where a hard, sharp edge was needed. It was also used for springs, including those used in clocks and watches.
[38]
With the advent of speedier and thriftier production methods, steel has been easier to
obtain and much cheaper. It has replaced wrought iron for a multitude of purposes. However, the availability of plastics in the latter part of the 20th century allowed these materials to replace steel in some applications due to their lower cost and weight.[61]
[edit]Long
steel
A steel pylon suspending overhead powerlines
As reinforcing bars and mesh in reinforced concrete Railroad tracks Structural steel in modern buildings and bridges Wires
[edit]Flat
carbon steel
Major appliances Magnetic cores The inside and outside body of automobiles, trains, and ships.
[edit]Stainless
steel
A stainless steel gravy boat
Main article: Stainless steel

Cutlery Rulers Surgical equipment Wrist watches
[edit]Low-background
steel
Main article: Low-background steel Steel manufactured after World War II became contaminated with radionuclides due to nuclear weapons testing. Low-background steel, steel manufactured prior to 1945, is used for certain radiation-sensitive applications such as Geiger counters and radiation shielding.
[edit]
Alloy
This article is about the type of material. For the specification language, see Alloy (specification language). For alloyed wheels, see alloy wheel.
Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon content between 0.02% and 2.14% by mass.
An alloy is a metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal (heat treatment) history. Alloys usually have different properties from those of the component elements. Alloy constituents are usually measured by mass.
Contents
[hide]
1 Theory 2 Termin ology 3 History 4 See also 5 Refere nces 6 Extern
al links
[edit]Theory
Alloying a metal is done by combining it with one or more other metals or non-metals that often enhances its properties. For example, steel is stronger than iron, its primary element. The physical properties, such as density, reactivity, Young's modulus, and electrical and thermal conductivity, of an alloy may not differ greatly from those of its elements, but engineering properties such as tensile strength[1] and shear strength may be substantially different from those of the constituent materials. This is sometimes due to the sizes of the atoms in the alloy, since larger atoms exert a compressive force on neighboring atoms, and smaller atoms exert a tensile force on their neighbors, helping the alloy resist deformation. Sometimes alloys may exhibit marked differences in behavior even when small amounts of one element occur. For example, impurities in semiconducting ferromagnetic alloys lead to different properties, as first predicted by White, Hogan, Suhl, Tian Abrie and Nakamura.[2][3] Some alloys are made by melting and mixing two or more metals. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was the first alloy discovered, during the prehistoric period now known as the bronze age; it was harder than pure copper and originally used to make tools and weapons, but was later superseded by metals and alloys with better properties. In later times bronze has been used for ornaments, bells, statues, and bearings. Brass is an alloy made from copper and zinc. Unlike pure metals, most alloys do not have a single melting point, but a melting range in which the material is a mixture of solid and liquid phases. The temperature at which melting begins is called the solidus, and the temperature when melting is just complete is called the liquidus. However, for most alloys there is a particular proportion of constituents (in rare cases two)the eutectic mixturewhich gives the alloy a unique melting point.
[edit]Terminology
The term alloy is used to describe a mixture of atoms in which the primary constituent is a metal. The primary metal is called the base or the matrix. If there is a mixture of only two types of atoms, not counting impurities, such as a copper-nickel alloy, then it is called a binary alloy. If there are three different types of atoms forming the mixture, such as iron, nickel and chromium, then it is called a ternary alloy. An alloy with four constituents is a quaternary alloy, while a five-part alloy is termed a quinary alloy. Since the percentage of each constituent can be varied, with any mixture the entire range of possible variations is called a system. In this respect, all of the various forms of an alloy containing only two
constituents, like iron and carbon, is called a binary system, while all of the different alloy combinations possible with a ternary alloy, such as alloys of iron, carbon and chromium, is called a ternary system.[4] When a molten metal is mixed with another substance, there are two different mechanisms that can cause an alloy to form, called atom exchange and the interstitial mechanism. The relative size of each atom in the mix plays a primary role in determining which mechanism will occur. When the atoms are relatively similar in size, the atom exchange method usually happens, where some of the atoms composing the metallic crystals are replaced with atoms of the other constituent. With the interstitial mechanism, one atom is usually much smaller than the other, and so cannot successfully replace an atom in the crystals of the base metal. The smaller atoms become trapped in the spaces between the atoms in the crystal matrix, called the interstices.[5] Alloys are often made in order to alter the mechanical properties of the base metal, to induce hardness, toughness, ductility, or other desired properties. While most metals and alloys can be work hardened by inducing defects in their crystal structure, caused by plastic deformation, some alloys can also have their properties altered by heat treatment. Nearly all metals can be softened by annealing, which repairs the crystal defects, but not as many can be hardened by controlled heating and cooling. Many alloys of aluminum, copper, magnesium,titanium, and nickel can be strengthened to some degree by some method of heat treatment, but few respond to this to the same degree that steel does.[5] At a certain temperature, the base metal of steel, iron, undergoes a change in the arrangement of the atoms in its crystal matrix, called allotropy. This allows the small carbon atoms to enter the interstices of the crystal. When this happens, the carbon atoms are said to be in solution, or mixed with the iron. If the iron is cooled slowly, the carbon atoms will be forced out of solution, into the spaces between the crystals. If the steel is cooled quickly, the carbon atoms become trapped in solution, causing the iron crystals to deform when the crystal structure tries to change to its low temperature state, inducing great hardness.[5] In practice, some alloys are used so predominantly with respect to their base metals that the name of the primary constituent is also used as the name of the alloy. For example, 14karat gold is an alloy of gold with other elements. Similarly, the silver used in jewelry and the aluminium used as a structural building material are also alloys. The term "alloy" is sometimes used in everyday speech as a synonym for a particular alloy. For example, automobile wheels made of an aluminium alloy are commonly referred to as
simply "alloy wheels", although in point of fact steels and most other metals in practical use are also alloys.
[edit]History
This section requires expansion with: History of early intentional alloy use, History of science of modern metallurgical alloys.
A meteorite is shown below a hatchet that was forged from meteoric iron.
Bronze axe 1100 BC
The use of alloys by humans started with the use of meteoric iron, a naturally occurring alloy of nickel and iron. As no metallurgic processes were used to separate iron from nickel, the alloy was used as it was.[6] Meteoric iron could be forged from a red heat to make objects such as tools, weapons, and nails. In many cultures it was shaped by cold hammering into knives and arrowheads. They were often used as anvils. Meteoric iron was very rare and valuable, and difficult for ancient people to work.[7]
Iron is usually found as iron ore on Earth, except for one deposit of native iron in Greenland, which was used by the Inuit people.[8] Nativecopper, however, was found worldwide, along with silver, gold and platinum, which were also used to make tools, jewelry, and other objects since Neolithic times. Copper was the hardest of these metals, and the most widely distributed. It became one of the most important metals to the ancients. Eventually, humans learned to smelt metals such as copper and tin from ore, and, around 2500 BC, began alloying the two metals to form bronze, which is much harder than its ingredients. Tin was rare, however, being found mostly in Great Britain. In the Middle East, people began alloying copper with zinc to form brass.[9] Ancient civilizations took into account the mixture and the various properties it produced, such as hardness, toughness and melting point, under various conditions of temperature and work hardening, developing much of the information contained in modern alloy constitution diagrams.[10] The first known smelting of iron began in Anatolia, around 1800 BC Called the bloomery process, it produced very soft but ductile wrought ironand, by 800 BC, the technology had spread to Europe. Pig iron, a very hard but brittle alloy of iron and carbon, was being produced in China as early as 1200 BC, but did not arrive in Europe until the Middle Ages. These metals found little practical use until the introduction of crucible steel around 300 BC. These steels were of poor quality, and the introduction of pattern welding, around the 1st century AD, sought to balance the extreme properties of the alloys by laminating them, to create a tougher metal.[10] Mercury had been smelted from cinnabar for thousands of years. Mercury dissolves many metals, such as gold, silver, and tin, to formamalgams, (an alloy in a soft paste, or liquid form at ambient temperature). Amalgams have been used since 200 BC in China for plating objects with precious metals, called gilding, such as armor and mirrors. The ancient Romans often used mercury-tin amalgams for gilding their armor. The amalgam was applied as a paste and then heated until the mercury vaporized, leaving the gold, silver, or tin behind.[11] Mercury was often used in mining, to extract precious metals like gold and silver from their ores.[12] Many ancient civilizations alloyed metals for purely aesthetic purposes. In ancient Egypt and Mycenae, gold was often alloyed with copper to produce red-gold, or iron to produce a bright burgundy-gold. Silver was often found alloyed with gold. These metals were also used to strengthen each other, for more practical purposes. Quite often, precious metals were alloyed with less valuable substances as a means to deceive buyers.[13] Around 250 BC, Archimedes was commissioned by the king to find a way to check the purity of the
gold in a crown, leading to the famous bath-house shouting of "Eureka!" upon the discovery of Archimedes principle.[14] While the use of iron started to become more widespread around 1200 BC, mainly due to interruptions in the trade routes for tin, the metal is much softer than bronze. However, very small amounts of steel, (an alloy of iron and around 1% carbon), was always a byproduct of the bloomery process. The ability to modify the hardness of steel by heat treatment had been known since 1100 BC, and the rare material was valued for use in tool and weapon making. Since the ancients could not produce temperatures high enough to fully melt iron, the production of steel in decent quantities did not occur until the introduction of blister steel during the Middle Ages. This method introduced carbon by heating wrought iron in charcoal for long periods of time, but the penetration of carbon was not very deep, so the alloy was not very homogenous. In 1740, Benjamin Huntsman began melting blister steel in a crucible to even out the carbon content, creating the first process for the mass production of tool steel. Huntsman's process was used for manufacturing tool steel until the early 1900s.[15] With the introduction of the blast furnace to Europe in the Middle Ages, pig iron was able to be produced in much higher volumes than wrought iron. Since pig iron could be melted, people began to develop processes of reducing the carbon in the liquid pig iron in order to create steel. Puddling was introduced during the 1700s, where molten pig iron was stirred while exposed to the air, to remove the carbon by oxidation. In 1858, Sir Henry Bessemer developed a process of steel making by blowing hot air through liquid pig iron to reduce the carbon content. The Bessemer process was able to produce the first large scale manufacture of steel.[15] Once the Bessemer process began to gain widespread use, other alloys of steel began to follow, such as mangalloy, an alloy of steel and manganese, which exhibits extreme hardness and toughness.[16]
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avalanche New Delhi, July 27 (ANI):Controversial Bollywood actress and TV personality Rakhi Sawant expressed her willingness to marry

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Swap option future forward Nokia

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OMX: NOK1V,NYSE: NOK, FWB: NOA3

Telecommunications Internet Computer software

Tampere, Finland (1865) incorporated in Nokia (1871)

Fredrik Idestam Leo Mechelin Espoo, Finland Worldwide

Maps and navigation, music,messaging and media Software solutions

42.45 billion (2010)[1]

2.070 billion (2010)[1]

1.850 billion (2010)[1]

39.12 billion (end 2010)[1]

16.23 billion (end 2010)[1]

132,430 (end 2010)[1]

Mobile Phones Markets

Nokia Siemens Networks Navteq Symbian Vertu Qt Development Frameworks

1.1 Pre-telecommunications era

1.1.1 Industrial conglomerate

1.2 Telecommunications era

1.2.5 Challenges of growth

1.3 Recent history

2 Alliance with Microsoft 3 Corporate affairs

3.1 Corporate structure

3.1.1.1 Mobile Solutions

3.1.1.2 Mobile Phones 3.1.1.3 Markets

3.1.2.1 Nokia Siemens Networks

3.1.3 Corporate governance

3.1.3.1 Former corporate officers

3.2 Logos 3.3 Stock 3.4 Corporate culture

5.1 NSN's provision of intercept capability to Iran

5.2 Lex Nokia 5.3 NokiaApple patent dispute

Fredrik Idestam, founder of Nokia.

Statesman Leo Mechelin, co-founder of Nokia.

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Avenue de la Libert,Luxembourg, Luxembourg

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US $2.916 billion (2010)[1]

US $130.9 billion (2010)[1]

US $66.10 billion (2010)[1]

Employees 263,000 (end 2010)[1]

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Public (BSE: 500470)

Headquarte Mumbai, Maharashtra, India[1] rs

Area served Worldwide

Ratan Tata (Chairman) B Muthuraman (Vice

$22.741 billion (2010)[2]

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Tata Steel Europe

1.1 Acquisitions 1.2 Corus

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Steel Authority of India Limited

Steel Authority of India Limited

State-owned enterprise Public

New Delhi, India[1]

Chandra Shekhar Verma(Chairman)

1.520 billion (2010)[2]