He's a writer, columnist, consultant, mentor, and now the only Indian to be on the panel of judges for the Harvard Business Review's prestigious McKinsey Awards. That's an honour-even for somebody like Gurcharan Das, former Chairman & CEO of P&G India. For one, Das, 61, gets to share the panel with global corporate heavyweights like IBM's Sam Palmisano, ups' Michael Eskew, and Robert Hormats, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs. Besides, previous winners of the annual awards, which recognise the best articles published in HBR, have included Michael Porter, Henry Mintzberg and Charles Handy. As part of the panel, it will be Das' task to select "the two most significant articles that are likely to have a major influence on executives worldwide". "It will mean some work for me," says Das, who's just finished serving on the Milton Friedman Prize for Freedom in 2004 committee and is in the middle of writing his second book (on governance).

Sugar Czar

It's official. Kushagra Bajaj's Bajaj Hindusthan is the new #1 sugar producer in the country, ahead of K.K. Birla Group and Balrampur Chini. What did the trick? Bajaj's new Rs 140-crore mill in Meerut that got rolling this crushing season. That may seem like a big achievement to any other 28-year-old, but not to this Bajaj scion. To say that he is ambitious would be an understatement. He's bid for all the 24 sick state-owned mills put up for sale by the up government, and one of his goals, as stated in his company's annual report, is to make more profits than the annual revenues of the world's second largest company (Exxon-Mobil). That, people, would be Rs 12,45,512 crore. We have just one question: Why the second-largest and not the largest? Perhaps, he knows something that we don't.

Rising Son

Richie rich, try this for size. When Siddhartha Mallya turned 18 on May 7, his father, Vijay, celebrated it by not just launching an airline, but also announcing-in Toulouse, France-that the Wellington College student would be his successor at the UB Group. Mallya himself was only 21 when his father, Vittal, roped him into business, and by 27 was Group Chairman following his father's death. However, Sid, as his friends call him, wants to get an MBA (from the University of London) before he joins his dad in business.

Unfashionable Voice

Everybody knows that fashion events in India are little more than skin-ogling fests. Of course, nobody ever says that because, well, this is not a business where speaking your mind takes you far. Gautam Singhania couldn't care less. As the boss of textiles major Raymond, he can afford to speak his mind. And that's exactly what he did last fortnight, when he called the Lakme India Fashion Week (LIFW) a "social event", and a related event organised by the Fashion Design Council a "Page 3" gathering. Singhania had a point. Although the LIFW is into its sixth year, it hasn't managed to become a serious business event. Proof: Even Singhania, whose fashion brand Be: is one of the biggest domestic buyers, wasn't sent an official invite.

On Cloud Nine

Dinesh Keskar, Boeing's point man in India, just can't stop smiling. And why not? It's not every day that one gets to bag an order (from Air-India) for 35 aircraft worth a whopping $6 billion (Rs 26,400 crore), and watch rival Airbus Industrie turn green with envy. Does that make him a star of sorts back in the headquarters in Chicago? "I think the folks in Chicago realise rather well that it is difficult working in India," is all Keskar would say. That means the 50-year-old can also look forward to a tidy bonus this year-unless, of course, Indian government's auditor, the CAG, decides to play spoilsport.

Slowly But Surely

Notice that mild grin on R.S. Lodha's face? Expect that to widen in the days to come. For, Lodha seems to be on a winning streak against the Birlas. The Company Law Board recently dismissed a petition filed by some shareholders seeking an investigation into allegations that the controlling stake in the M.P. Birla flagship, Birla Corporation, had changed hands. Earlier, the courts had discharged three caveats filed by members of the Birla family, and declined to pass any interim orders on a Birla plea to appoint an administrator over the late Priyamvada Birla's estate. However, the real battle will begin when the courts start hearing probate petitions filed by the two sides. He'd better hang on to Lady Luck.

-Contributed by R. Sridharan, Sahad P.V., Rahul Sachitanand, Priyanka Sangani,
Kushan Mitra and Arnab Mitra