Bharat Entrepreneurs

Prakash Chand Parakh,born in 1946, march 2nd at Bikaner in Rajasthan started BIKANER’s first ever computer center Parakh Computers in 1985 after getting trained in U.S.A. Out of his zeal and interest he used to develop software for local markets as well as for exports in 1985.As a result Parakh Computers was developed and FINACCTS – Financial Accounting Software and PARPAY – Payroll Software  was amongst the first little software developed by it.

  Later he brought one TELEVIDEO Portable PC and OKIDATA DMP and in May 1987 he started training institute named PICS (Parakh Institute of Computer Science).In order to improve their after-sales support, Parakh Computers  had set up an electronic bulletin board system where any client can dial up using a modem and get instant technical help through the online guides, alternatively they can leave messages and data files for management to be reviewed at a later time.Thus it became the first software Development Company in India to provide this online electronic service to their clients.

Due to their efficient services over 13 years in this software sector Parakh Computers became famous for its software export business and expertise level. Parakh Computers prominently being the Custom Designed Software Provider, have successfully implemented more than 100 software projects for different enviornments.
 

Prakash Chand Parakh:

Prakash Chand Parakh who completed his B. Sc and LLB has gained D.C.O.M qualification from U.S.A. Currently he is controlling the Overall Management and Systems Analysis in Parakh Computers.Apart from these his son Devendra Parakh, who is a Chief Software Engineer (A.S. Hum. (USA) ,A. S. Engg. (USA) ) is contributing more towards the success of Parakh Computers by controlling the Software Design and Systems Analysis.

Popularity: 2%

This can well be described as a shutdown for a reboot. Yes, a man with his vision can never walk away to the twilight zone,that easily. Yes, I am talking about Bill Gates, who is goilg to step down from Microsoft Corp,bidding audieu to his regular work life in the company. Only a Bill gates can decide to give up a job at the prime executive age of 52 years!

Born on 28, October 1955 to a leading Lawyer- Active Social activist couple,, Bill was introduced to his future fetish in Lakeside Preparatory School,Seattle. Starting off with programming in Basic language, Bill is famed to have programmed a Class Scheduling  system for his schoolat the age of 13. Teaming with his school senior,Paul Allen, Bill was  “just goofing around with the Computer.” But he was sharp enough to realise the potential of the Computer to change human life for the better. May be his Mother’s philanthropist views egged him to think on those lines. As he wrote in his book, The Road Ahead, he “caught sight of the future and based my career on those lines.I turned out to be right.” Right in such an astounding way.Short of achieving his dream of a PC for every man in the world,he has revolutionised the Personal Computing world, beyond recognition. Even the famed precincts of Harvard Uni failed to hold back this genius. After dropping out of his Uni education,Bill set up  Microsoft  along with Allen. He also managed to wean away another, who shared his love for Mathematics and Humour, from the business school-Steve Balmer, the CEO of Microsoft!

What a combination the Gates-Balmer-Allen trio turned out to be! The first revolution was when they built the first major Operating system-MS-DOS- for IBM’s new personal computer. Bill’svision made him realise that, Software and nor Hardware would be more important in the PC world and secured rights to licence the OS to other manufacturers . The rest is history , or rather his story.

Microsoft became a Public corporate in 1986, catapulting Bill gates to the title of the youngest-ever, self-made Bilionaire, at the age of 31. His business acumen and visionary skills made Microsoft a house-hold name in all PC-savy homes. Naturally the wealth and challenge brought out the sharp entrepreneur in him,making him, an enemy of even  the State. It was not just his business rivals but the Governments in his home country and European Union vied with each other in dragging him into litigations.

When he turned 50, he shocked the world by saying that in two years hence, he would leave the corporate world to take upcahrity work. It sounded more as a cliche. But he wore his heart on his sleeves by saying, ” With success, I have been given great wealth. And with great wealth comes great responsibility….to see that those resources are put to work in the best possible way to help those in need.” Words,that only a Bill gates can probably say with all sincerety.

Today he has kept that word. He has decided to give up the call of his mind for the sakeof the call of his heart. He will soon be spearheading a charity revolution for the needy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an organisation he is heading saddled with a whopping $37.30 billion corpus. The funds have been contributed by Bill and his wife, Melinda and another like-minded and the world’s richestman, Warren Buffet.The foundation is slated to take up work relating to finding new vaccines and cures to dreaded diseaes and micro fiancning ventures in the developing world. Knowing Bill Gate’s eye for success, we can rest assured that this new venture will be equally succesful, much to the benefit of mankind.

He will continue to be the biggest shareholder of MS Corp and continue as its Chairman but he is pledged to test his tryst with his heart’s call. We can only wish this genius with a golden heart all success  in his new venture as well. We can rest assured, this is not a shutdown for him but a Reboot for a better career.

My salutes to this legend.

Popularity: 3%

MURPHY’S NEW LAWS  

Murphy’s Law has been a favourite hypothesis of all Management Gurus. However, their applicability to real-life situations has always been a debated point. However, from the experience some of us have gained over the years, the following laws have been framed. Can we call them Murphy’s New Laws?

1. Whenever I find the Key to success, some one changes the Lock.
2. To Err is Human and Not to forgive is our Company’s Policy
3. The Road to success is almost always under repair
4. Alcohol does not solve your problems, but come to think of it, neither does Milk.
5. All the desirable things in life are expensive or illegal or addictive or fattening
6. Light travels faster than sound, hence people appear brighter before they talk.
7. If at first try you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence of your having tried.
8. Nearly 50% of all statistics is made On The Spot.
9. Probability works best in a weather man’s case- it rains when he says it won’t.
10. If you are early, the train is late; and if you come late, the train is still late.
11. Buy something new, you always find it selling cheaper elsewhere.
12. When in a queue, it is the other line which always moves faster
13. When in a queue, the man in your front always has the most complex transaction.
14. While on roaming, you get the maximum wrong calls.
15. The bus you board is always crowded; the bus in the other direction will always be empty
16. Get into your bath and your phone or the door bell rings.
17. If you have the exam tomorrow, today will have an unscheduled  powercut.
18. You buy your vehicle, the oil prices will go up that night.

Popularity: 3%

ACC (ACC Limited) is India’s number one manufacturer of cement and concrete. ACC’s has operations throughout the country with 14 modern cement factories, more than 30 Ready mix concrete plants, 20 sales offices, and several zonal offices. It employs a workforce at nearly 10,000 head counts and a countrywide distribution network of over 9,000 dealers.

In the 70 years of its existence, ACC has been a pioneer in the manufacture of cement and concrete and a trendsetter in many areas of cement and concrete technology including improvements in raw material utilisation, process improvement, energy conservation and development of high performance concretes.

ACC’s brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a high level of equity in the Indian market. It is the only cement company that figures in the list of Consumer SuperBrands of India.

           F.E Dinshaw, the founder of ACC. He, along with other likeminded entrepreneurs founded the Indian Cement Industry.

Wikipedia gives the following definition for a Merger:

 A merger is a tool used by the companies for the purpose of expanding their operations, often aiming at an increase of their long term profitability.

Usually mergers occurs in a consensual setting where executives from the target company help those from the purchaser in a due diligence process to ensure that the deal is beneficial to both parties.

The year was 1936, when ten cement companies came together under a common umbrella. The companies belonged to four prominent business groups:

• The Tatas
• Khataus
• Killick Nixon
• F.E Dinshaw groups

This Merger proved to be very successful. Their unity of purpose ensured that they had an unbeatable lead in the Industry. The formation of ACC represents a quest for the synergy of good business practices, values and shared objectives.

ACC’ s first board meeting took place in 1936 at THE ESPLANADA. Sir Nowroji B Saklatvala was the first chairman of ACC.

Notable list of Business luminaries who attended this meeting were:

• JRD Tata
• Ambalal Sarabhai
• Welchand Hirachand
• Sir Homy Modi
• Sir Akbar Hydari

The Tatas, who were intimately associated with the ACC since the start finally called it quits in the year 2000. Their association lasted for 64 years. They sold their shares to Gujarat Ambuja Cements. (GACL)

Recently, the ACC formed a new startegic alliance with Holcim, a reputed corporate entity based in Switzerland.

Popularity: 4%

Anil Agarwal, an Indian entrepreneur born in 1954 is the founder-director, executive chairman and majority stakeholder of the $10 billion conglomerate Vedanta Resources corporation, a UK-based firm, which owns mining and metal resources. He is from an ordinary family and his father was a fabricator of grills and gates in small-town Patna in 1960s. It is very inspiring to see a person leaving school at 15 without knowing a word of English and rise to great heights. He is  the eleventh-richest Indian(2006), with a personal fortune of US$4.5 billion. As of 6th October 2007, his net worth was estimated at $12.7 billion, making him the 6th richest Indian.Vedanta Resources was the only Indian group to go for a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2003 and its subsidiary, Sterlite Industries, was listed on NYSE in 2007 in the largest IPO in the US by an Indian company.

              Initially, Anil Agarwal started as a small time scrap metal trading business in Mumbai. In the 1980s he believed enough in the telecommunication industry to create a major demand for copper wires. His vision and foresight were right! In 1983 he managed well to buy a  closed down copper cable manufacturing plant in U.S for US $ 2 million and he invested $1.5 million bank loan for its development. The new company that he formed Sterlite Industries grew very well. 

• Vedanta Resources Plc agreed to buy Mitsui & Co.’s entire stake in Indian iron-ore exporter Sesa Goa Ltd. for $981 million, beating rivals including Arcelor Mittal to secure supplies of the steel-making raw material.
• Anil Agarwal is a great fan of Lalu Prasad as he studied in the same school  (Miller High School ) where Lalu studied.
• Anils’s career started in a room at  Kalbadevi where not more than three people could sit and with a telephone which was rented from another office upstairs.
• Today,  Anil Agarwal  owns a $20 million home at Mayfair in central London.
• Agarwal who set up the 10,000-acre Vedanta University in Orissa, has dedicated it to his father Dwaraka Prasad Agarwal.

       Agarwal is  a simple but resolute spiritual person who achieved much due to perseverance and hard work.

Popularity: 10%