Raghupati Singhania, MD, JK Industries: The numero uno

Ending MRF's 40-year-old reign at pole position in the four-wheeler tyre market must have called for a Herculean effort from JK Industries, but what's going to prove even tougher is hanging on to that No 1 spot. After all, the difference between No 1 and No 2 isn't much: JK sold close to 21 per cent of last year's total sales, whilst MRF wasn't far behind with just under 20 per cent.

But you don't need to warn Raghupati Singhania, Managing Director of the Rs 1,700 crore JK Industries, about that. Last fortnight, for instance, he launched an ''eco-friendly'' tyre (green-coloured) that costs roughly 10 per cent more than the regular.

Singhania feels the company's aggressive marketing has helped it bag the numero uno slot. In the commercial vehicles segment, JK introduced new categories, such as extra-load tyres and tyres specific to certain models. In tractor, it launched hard-soil tyres, haulage tyres, and soft-field tyres. In the passenger car category, the company rolled out a high-performance range and the Ultima brand. ''We have brought down our product development time from 8-10 months to three months,'' says Singhania.

Schemes like 'Dial-a-Tyre' and 'Steel Wheels' that offer unique customer services also contributed to the winning performance. Now all Singhania has to do is repeat that showing in the current year. And the next. And...

-Swati Prasad

PROALGEN BIOTECH
Anti-Oxidant, Pro-Profit
A biotech company from Chennai patents an anti-oxidant that has huge potential in the domestic market.

N.S. Bala Mukundan, MD, Proalgen: Seeing gold in algae

Natural betacarotene algae may mean little for most of us, but for the Chennai-based Proalgen Biotech, this potent anti-oxidant may well prove a goldmine. For, not only has Proalgen patented the production technique, it has also succeeded in making it commercially viable.

The landed cost of imports is Rs 18,000 for a kg of betacarotene encapsuled in oil. Normally the actual content of betacarotene is 30 per cent; the rest is oil used as a carrier to preserve the characteristics of the algae.

"We plan to sell at Rs 14,000 per kg," says N.S. Bala Mukundan, Managing Director, Proalgen. What's more, at the current rate of production of 1 tonne a year, break-even is just 12-15 months away.

In a year's time, Bala Mukundan wants to scale up production to 10 tonnes, by investing Rs 10 crore. That's when imports won't be needed any longer. He's got it all worked out. Now, it just has to pan out.

-Nitya Varadarajan

Ten Hot Jobs For the Coming Decade
Maybe our headhunters aren't imaginative enough, or maybe our economy isn't all that funky, but the list of ten hot jobs for tomorrow looks just a wee bit pedestrian.

Last month, us magazine Smart Money ran a list titled 'The Next Hot Jobs'. We thought we'd do one-up on them. After all, India is a happening developing economy, not a coming-out-of-recession mature one. Unfortunately, our list pales in comparison to the original (the most imaginative response we could elicit from a headhunter was 'Corporate Caterer'). Read on and remember: blame our headhunters; and blame our economy.

OUR LIST

CEO/Head of Technology - IT Enabled Services
BE, CA with MBA; Rs 50-70 lakh p.a.
India will become the world's back-office and back-offices will need CEOs/CTOs

Telecom Technology Expert
Masters in Communication Engg, Global exposure; Rs 40-70 lakh p.a.
India is in the midst of a telecom boom; need we say more

Retail Services Expert/Retail Operations Head
Some specialisation in retail management ; Rs 40-50 lakh p.a.
This is the era of organised retail in India

Biotechnologist
Masters in Pharmacology or Medicine; Rs 30-60 lakh p.a. Drug research is hot in India

E-learning consultant/Super-prof
Ph.D; Rs 40-50 lakh p.a.
Paucity of teachers will force schools to take to e-learning

Nutritionist/Food Researcher
PhD in Dietetics or Food Technology; Rs 30-65 lakh p.a.
The processed foods industry is booming, and people are becoming health conscious

Actuary
Fellow of Actuarial Society; Rs 35-40 lakh p.a.
Who else will devise and analyse claims in the benefits, pensions, and insurance market

Natural Resource Expert
Bachelors in Engineering; Rs 30-35 lakh p.a.
Exploring for energy sources and managing resources like water are becoming important

Healthcare Specialist
Degree in Hospital management; MBA; Rs 30-40 lakh
Organised healthcare has been the next big thing in India for some time; maybe its time has come

Consultant
Bachelors in Engineering, MBA; Rs 70-75 lakh p.a.
Because India Inc is in constant pursuit of excellence

THERE LIST

Bioinformatician
Bioinformatics/Bio-sciences degree; $120,000 p.a. (with 3 yrs exp)
Bioinformaticians can predict which drugs will work on which illnesses

Wireless Engineer
Masters in electrical engineering, code-knowledge; $80,000 p.a. (with 5-years experience)
Palms, other PDAs, and mobile phones-that's why

Forensic Accountant
CPA, auditing experience ; $100,000 p.a.
Because another Enron could happen

Speech Pathologist
Masters in Speech Pathology; $38,000 p.a.
14 million Americans have speech disorders

Data Miner
Masters in Computer Science/Statistics; $60,000-70,000 p.a.
They'll sift through databases and pick trends on anything

Home-care Nurse
Degree in Nursing, certification; $43,000 p.a.
The population is greying and there's no one to take care of the old

A.I Programmer
Degrees in Mechanical Engg/Computer Science, specialisation in A.I/Robotics; $50,000 p.a.
Because everything needs intelligence

Adventure Travel Guide
A love of the outdoors ; $40,000 p.a.
Because people are willing to pay the earth, even more for thrills

Fuel-cell Engineer
Degree in Engineering/Computer Science; $100,000-120,000 p.a. (for senior pros)
Everything from cars to PDAs will soon be powered by fuel-cells

Intellectual Property Attorney
Degree in law, need to pass special bar exam; $60,000-86,000 p.a.
All knowledge-intensive companies have to protect their intellectual property

-compiled by Subhajit Banerjee