He drives a Toyota corolla, switches lights off after him, and shuns all signs of ostentation. So, for Azim Hashim Premji, 60, Chairman of Wipro, Forbes' recent estimation of his net worth at $13.3 billion, or Rs 62,510 crore, will not mean much. Like always, Premji will keep his head down to focus on Wipro, of which he owns 82 per cent. So it's the people around him (including the media) who take vicarious delight in the fact that he's now the sixth richest tech titan in the world, only behind Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, and Steve Ballmer. (Even Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page come behind Premji at joint 7th with $12.9 billion and $12.8 billion, respectively). If Wipro keeps growing, Premji will go only one way on Forbes' rich list: Up.

Like Father, Like Son

Dad likes abstract imagery, son is fascinated by nature and animals; junior revels in bright colours, while dad is partial to darker shades. But Kaushik Roy, 49, and his 16-year-old son, Orko, have one thing in common: They love to paint. And recently, Roy, President of brand strategy and marketing communications at Reliance Industries, teamed up with his son to showcase their work (44 paintings) in Mumbai. "The exhibition (named Jugalbandi) will be a big encouragement for Orko," says Roy, whose son had a motor coordination problem till he was 11. Not all the paintings were for sale, though, especially Orko's earliest work, comprising four paintings. Those, says Roy, are strictly for the family collection.

Inscrutable System

A PSU chief being denied an extension doesn't usually make news. but what makes Proshanto Banerjee's departure from the top job at GAIL interesting is the twists and turns leading up to the government's decision. Banerjee, 58, previously served as an Executive Director at Indian Oil, and was fast-tracked (double promoted) to become GAIL's CMD. His critics alleged that it was his proximity to the previous NDA regime that helped, since the then petroleum minister had kept his appointment in abeyance for about six months before the PMO intervened. Now, when the Public Enterprises Selection Board gives the thumbs up for his continuation, on the back of his excellent report card, the government doesn't concur and lists a series of transgressions committed by Banerjee that don't find a mention in the report card. So much for GoI's performance evaluations.

Accountant's Game

Jessop, Dunlop, Hirakud Cables and IDCOL rolling Mills were all acquisitions where Pawan Kumar Ruia, 47, got in the last but came out tops. Now, the Kolkata-based ca-turned-entrepreneur is eyeing Daewoo's passenger car facility at Surajpur near Delhi, a unit that has been on the block for four years now. Unlike the previous bidders, who bid for bits and pieces, Ruia wants all of Daewoo. He isn't revealing his bid price, but Daewoo's land alone is valued at over Rs 1,000 crore. "The decision on usage of this facility will be taken once we acquire it," says Ruia. Watch this man.

Personal Guarantee

He's not the first chief executive to go before the camera to save an embattled company, but he's the first cola chieftain in India to do so. Starting August 30th, Pepsico India began airing a commercial featuring its Chairman Rajeev Bakshi in a bid to quell the pesticides-in-cola controversy. In the commercial, Bakshi, 48, walks viewers though a Pepsi plant, explaining the quality standards. "The TV commercial extends my personal guarantee of our product safety," says Bakshi. It is hard to say if his guarantee will boost consumer confidence, but the effort is laudable.

A Taste for Pickles

There are some businesses he inherited and there are others he wants to build. The Global Green Company (TGGC), a 10-year-old food venture, is one of the latter. And Gautam Thapar, 45, is about to prove that he can drive his new ventures with as much zeal as the flagship paper business. Thapar has acquired Belgium-based Intergarden Group, turning TGGC from a Rs 100-crore company into a $100-million biggie that now becomes the world's third-largest pickle supplier. "I expect Global Green to be a $1-billion (Rs 4,700-crore) venture in the next four to five years," Thapar had told BT recently. Suddenly, the man's target looks a little more realistic.

-Contributed by Venkatesha Babu, Balaji Chandramouli, Krishna Gopalan,
Ritwik Mukherjee and Archna Shukla