Economy

“Commerce flourishes by circumstances, precarious, transitory, contingent, almost as the winds and waves that bring it to our shores” - Charles Caleb Colton Even as the world reels under the effect of the economic slowdown, companies catering to the domestic market have not been affected all that much, say experts from various sectors, right here in Bengaluru. What does the downturn mean to industries in this blooming city here? How easy is it for namma students to get jobs this year? Are companies in the city still hiring? Or are they asking employees to swalpa adjust maadi? These are some…

Have you ever seen your grandmother or mother being possessive and nostalgic about their first Mysore silk saree? Just as today’s girls go ga-ga over a Swarovski, it was the Mysore silk saree which used to be considered an evergreen gift for a special occasion a few decades ago. It is no surprise that it has an interesting history as it was a thriving industry in itself in the state. Silk material and saris (Pic: Madhu Niranjan) The state sericulture industry saw successful highs in the past before it went down due to several reasons, including lack of technology upgrade…

Luxury apartments with world class facilities, half price sale at a clothes store, mobile phone with three-inch LCD, camera phones…just some of the advertisements on hoardings, serenading the consumer. But today as you drive through the city, more than advertisements for consumer products, you are likely to see advertisers calling for advertisements, their names and numbers given big and bold. Thanks to the economic downturn, say companies, they are taking it slow and cutting down on advertising expenses. But some in the advertising field say it has more to do with the mind than market conditions. Hoardings available on Koramangala…

Citizen Matters Magazine - Vol 1 Issue 3Dear Readers, As you know by now, the global downturn has impacted Bengaluru. In our conversations with citizens and businesses around the city, we noted some obvious and not-so-obvious markers to what’s going on.The earliest to face cutbacks were the city’s garment manufacturers, a major employer of workers. More recently, a round of layoffs has taken place atBengaluru’s major global firms, the bastion for white-collar jobs. The cuts are trickling down; anecdotally, shops and businesses in the city are confirming drops in sales over the past six months -- especially those that rely…

It was that time of the year again when Bangalore geared up to be a proud host of what is known as Asia’s premier air show! The Yelahanka air force station was decked up for Aero India 2009 from 11th February to 15th February. Defence Minister Mr. A K Antony declared Aero India 2009 open and also announced that the next Aero India will be held on 9th to 13th February, 2011. The inaugural site was house full with over 50 delegations including air chiefs, air marshals and generals from the airforces of US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Myanmar and other…

Worldwide, a staggering four to five trillion plastic shopping bags are used every year. Most are discarded after a single use. Like all other plastics, the bags too are made from fossil fuels and are popular because they are durable, cheap, strong and lightweight. But these very characteristics are also what make them a problem. Plastic bags take extremely long to degrade: estimates range from 100 to 1000 years. Which means that all the plastic bags ever manufactured are potentially still around in the environment. And that is a problem. 'Biodegradable' plastic bags have been adopted by a local retail…

I have been working in a very reputed BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) firm in Bangalore for the last six years. Today, during our tea break, the question, "Why we work for a BPO?" was raised. Post break I came back to my work station with my thoughts lingering about what we had discussed. Most of us in my group joined because we were either graduates or post graduates and not every one of us could get into management (or) technical trade. In the beginning, all of us felt it’s a 'no other go' scenario and found it difficult to explain…

Urban families are always on the lookout for a great bargain. Power bills account for a considerable percentage of the monthly household budget, and one such gadget that can cut down the same is the gas geyser. The gas geyser has a simple mechanism to heat water for bathing purposes - the LPG gas outlet is connected to an enclosed burner which heats the inlet water, giving hot water in few seconds. Gas Geyser, Chinese make (Pic: Divya Sharma) It takes just 3-5 minutes to fill a big bucket with hot water. However, this simple tool can turn a killer…

In 1995 when I first visited the Kathriguppe main road at Banashankari 3rd Stage, it reminded me of RK Narayan's description of a sleepy town. But today it boasts of everything that a city needs, including a retail store fresh@banashankari just 200 m from our residential complex with 72 apartments. I was informed the founder of Heritage Foods was none other than N. Chandrababu Naidu, former Andhra CM.I am a 65 year old who loves fruits. I used to be a regular customer at fresh@banashankari since it opened. I shifted my source of purchase from the road side fruit vendor…

I knew it - MNCs are no better, if not worse, than desi ones when it comes to after sales service. This painful truth was revealed to me when my Whirlpool Quick Chill became a hot case, so hot that even the company didn’t want to touch it with a barge pole. It happened last summer. I wanted to impress a client of my husband with a tall chilled glass of lime juice from my Whirlpool, just like the ads showed, and reached into the deep freeze for ice, and, what do you know, I felt water sloshing about in…