At 65, he might not be his sprightly old self, but when it comes to grabbing the headlines, Rahul Bajaj is second to none. The chairman of Bajaj Auto stole the show at the annual meeting of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, when he announced that he would create a new investment company and apportion a third of Bajaj Auto's Rs 3,000 crore reserves to it. The statement was actually in response to a journalist's query about the reserves. The reason behind this dramatic move is ostensibly to improve the price-earnings multiple and return on capital employed ratio of Bajaj Auto. Bajaj also added that it was his two sons Rajiv and Sanjiv who now ran the company. "Papa ki baat kaun sunta hai (Who listens to dad these days)," he joked. We wouldn't know about his sons, but the media surely does.

Dynamic Duo

One helped transform the eastern fringes of Delhi into a middle-class housing destination; the other runs a Rs 530-crore business group with interests ranging from film production to liquor trading. Now, the two have come together to create India's biggest shopping-cum-entertainment mall. For Mohit Singh (right), 28, MD of the Rs 103-crore Shipra Estates, the soon-to-be-opened 3.5-lakh square feet Centrestage Mall in Noida is a dream project. Says Manpreet Chadha, the 23-year-old scion of the Chadha Group, "We are in film distribution and production. Now, exhibition is part of our forward integration." Bollywood fans would agree that it takes two to tango.

Bonded Liquor

The world of scotch whiskies is a gentlemanly one. So, when Arun Seth, VP (International Trade) at Allied Domecq (the makers of Laprhroaig, Ballantine and Teacher's) and a Master of Scotch Whisky from Scotland, is evangelising Scotch's cause, he doesn't flinch from talking about the virtues of competing brands like J&B or Johnnie Walker. "It's common for distilleries owned by different companies in Scotland to exchange whiskies to make a perfect blend." Given their recent bonhomie, we're wondering whether the honchos of cola companies in India have taken to that practice lately.

Mister MR

In the world of business it's easy to find CEOs and chairmen trying to linger on well after they're past the universally accepted age for superannuation. But K.M.S. 'Titoo' Ahluwalia, 56, believes his decision to step down as the Chairman of AC Nielsen ORG-MARG has come six years too late. "Maybe I can take some part of the credit for taking market research (MR) from a data supply function to a key support activity that helps to cut down business risks," he says. Post retirement, Ahluwalia plans to work on social projects through a trust, Anshu, that will impart basic education to children and adults in rural areas. He'll remain the non-executive chairman with AC Nielsen, but in keeping with his spirit of renouncement that will be for another year only.

Frequent Flyers

They asked for it, and they got it. Taking a cue from Finance Minister Jaswant Singh's (left) demand for a 70-seater aircraft for the exclusive use of his ministry, Yashwant Sinha too pitched in with his "rightful" claim as the External Affairs Minister. The aircraft in question is manufactured by the Brazilian company Embraer and costs nearly Rs 90 crore a piece. The government had initially planned to purchase four of them for the use of the Prime Minister, the President, and other VVIPs, but is now forced to add two more to its shopping list. Fiscal responsibility be damned!

The Taste Of Success

For Rajeev Samant, it's time to pop the bubbly. To be precise, a Sauvignon Blanc. Come September 20, and he'll ship a few hundred cases of his flagship marque to Vins du Monde, one of France's leading importers of wine; the company, in turn, will showcase this along with the best wines from around the world. "In terms of prestige it just doesn't get better than this," gushes the CEO of the Nashik-based Sula Vineyards. The numbers may be small, but much like his wines, they may get better with time.

-Compiled by T.R. Vivek; contributed by Abir Pal, Kushan Mitra & Sahad P.V.