Exclusive interview.: Sachin :I wanted to play till 2014

Toi Nov 7 2014

...But the West Indies series made Sachin Tendulkar rethink his retirement plans, as Nalin Mehta found out in this exclusive interview.
When did you first entertain thoughts of retirement?

I was looking forward to the tours to South Africa in Dec 2013 and New Zealand in early 2014. But when the BCCI announced a two-Test series with the West Indies in Nov 2013, I had to rethink my plans. It was then - and I don't know exactly how and when - that the thought of retirement came to me. I started to wonder whether those two Tests against the West Indies should be my last. I remember discussing it with (wife) Anjali and (brother) Ajit. We were sitting on the first floor lounge of my house when I told them that I was thinking about retiring after the West Indies series. The second Test would be my 200th and I would not have another opportunity to retire on home soil till the end of 2014, and I wasn't sure if I could battle with injuries for that long. There was no point in dragging things out if my heart wasn't in it.

You talk in the book about the immense pressures of being Tendulkar. How did you deal with it?

I have always liked the fact that people expected something from me, because it meant I was capable of delivering something. When I played cricket it was also about living up to my own expectations and play the way I wanted to play the game - with the right values, in the right spirit and without taking things for granted. I never changed my priorities. Everything happened around cricket and cricket was always the centre. The rest of the things continued happening around my game and my family kept it that way .

My manager, Mark Mascarenhas from WorldTel, understood me well. Being a huge fan of cricket, he did not want me to make compromises. If we were shooting an ad, he never said, "C'mon, let's skip a practice session because they are giving us money ." The understanding was clear that during my cricket period nothing comes between me and my game. My family was extremely particular about this. This was a protective shell around me and it allowed me to forget about the outside world. Outside pressures were kept outside my territory and my territory was cricket.


Sachin Tendulkar, Ramakant Achrekar with Sara Tendulkar. (TOI Photo)

How did you keep this bubble going?

In the 1996 World Cup, I was the only batsman in the team who didn't have a sticker on his bat. Most others had 'Four Square' or 'Wills' but I didn't want to endorse a tobacco brand. Then in the middle of a game, the manager of an MNC came to me and suggested that if I put his company's sticker they would pay any amount I wanted. I turned it down because I didn't want any distractions in the middle of the tournament. I did not want any alien element on my bat which could catch my eye on the pitch. I had done well without a sticker till then and didn't want to risk my rhythm. We decided to wait till the tournament ended to fix the sticker.

You had your shell to protect you. But what happens when the fame and pressures start affecting your wife and children?

Arjun is 15 years old now and has faced this for a long time. So has Sara. In 2007, we had told Arjun, who was seven years old then, that if someone makes bad comments at school about our first-round exit from the World Cup, he should ignore it. But when a friend told him that India lost because his dad got out for zero, our advice went to his head. He punched his friend and told him never to say anything about his dad! At that time, reporters also asked him questions. It's unfair on Arjun and he should be treated like any other 15-year-old now that he is playing his own cricket. People should judge him as an individual and not compare.

You write about how you changed your game for that wonderful Perth century in 1992...

Before that Perth hundred we had already spent two months in Australia, played four Tests and a triangular series. I count that innings as among my best because I made certain adjustments. I was making my debut at No. 4 and by that stage had mastered the backfoot punch. People talk about Perth being helpful for fast bowlers but I feel that once you get your eye in, Perth can also make a fast bowler's life difficult. If a batsman knows how to use the length, then the bowler has a very small area as far as the good length spot is concerned. Because of bounce, if he falters on the shorter side you can cut or pull and if he is marginally fuller, then naturally you have to read the length and hit him on the rise. Perth is the kind of wicket where if you are in a positive frame of mind, it's a beautiful track to bat on. If you are not very positive then it's tough.

The most challenging bowler you ever faced?

There have been so many top players I have played since 1989. I can say there were at least 30 great bowlers that I have played against and it's difficult to pinpoint one guy as the best.

How can you differentiate between a Glenn McGrath or a Curtley Ambrose or a Shaun Pollock? They were all accurate and consistently bowled in that corridor, with a nagging length, where you couldn't attack them on the front foot. Neither could you pull or cut on the back foot. They had mastered that length. For that matter, how do you differentiate between Malcolm Marshall and Richard Hadlee or Imran Khan? All these are great bowlers so I just consider myself fortunate that I was able to play against the top all-rounders and bowlers of the '70s and '80s: Malcolm Marshall, Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan. In the next generation you had Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Courtney Walsh and others.

But who made you the most uncomfortable? 

The one bowler I didn't feel comfortable batting against was Hansie Cronje.

Why him?

I don't know. There was something. Early on, when someone like Allan Donald is bowling with strike bowlers such as Brett Shultz, Craig Matthews and Brian McMillan, you had to stay focused and respect how they were bowling. Then when you get someone who is just going to bowl 2-3 overs to give the strike bowlers a rest, then you want to put pressure on him. Later, I tried to play him differently. I tried to block, to leave, to slog and to play my normal game but somehow kept getting out to him.

The one thing that didn't work very well was your captaincy. You say you didn't get a free hand...

Captaincy left me bruised. I always wanted the best team but many times the selectors wanted to promote zonal quotas. In South Africa in 1996, I wanted Abey Kuruvilla to play with Venkatesh Prasad and Srinath but I didn't get him. He did very well later in West Indies and not taking him to SA was a mistake.

Who is the best captain you have played against?

Nasser Hussain was the best. He was very proactive, even though he used Ashley Giles against me negatively. He had the ability to think out batsmen and would do very good field placements. I also have a lot of regard for Graeme Smith.

And among the Australians?

Michael Clarke was the best. In 1992, I was about to pick up a ball to toss back to the bowler when Allan Border told me, "Don't you dare touch the ball." It was an early lesson in how competitive Australians are. But I was too young to judge him as a captain. Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting had great teams. Clarke had to rebuild his team from scratch.


Fab Four of Indian cricket - Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Tendulkar. (TOI Photo)

Some Australians accused you of unfairly backing Harbhajan in the 'Monkeygate' incident...

That incident happened because Symonds was continuously provoking Bhajji. Something had to give and when I walked to Bhajji to calm him down I heard him say "teri maa ki" to Symonds. To me it was part of the game. But Australian players started threatening him and he got out. I thought that was that, but later was very surprised when they said Bhajji had called Symonds a 'monkey'. The match referee could have handled it better. We were shocked at the ban they put on Bhajji. Anil and I decided to boycott the tour if the ban was upheld. It was time to take a stand, and we did.

You write that you always batted best when you were thinking about the opposite end, rather than your end...

Cricket is played best when you are thinking about what the guy against you is thinking, not about yourself or your technique. In 1999 in the first Test against Australia, when I went in to bat in the evening of the second day, McGrath bowled almost five maiden overs to me, bowling fairly outside the off-stump. I kept leaving the ball because I knew I had to stay on for the next day and they were just playing with my patience. So I said okay, let's play with your patience and see who wins. Next morning, McGrath bowled the same line and length but I hit a couple of boundaries in his first over and started playing my normal game. Shane Warne told me later, "You ruined our strategy because our strategy was to not make you play 70% of deliveries, frustrate you and take wickets from the other end." When you play against such great bowlers you have to play mind games and this was my way of retaliating to their strategy.

When you first played for Yorkshire and were short of money, you adopted interesting ways to buy food...

I didn't have enough money when playing county cricket. Quite a few friends were with me. We used to go to Pizza Hut, where if you ordered buffet you could have as much you wanted but you could fill the salad bowl only once. We figured out a technique where we would create a huge wall of lettuce in the small bowl, and then you could fill much more inside! We mastered that technique.

There is a story you recount about playing a shot you saw in your dream. Tell us about it.

It happened when I scored my 51st Test hundred in Cape Town. I was batting outside the crease to negate the bounce. I had seen in my dreams five days before that game that I was hooking Morny Morkel for a six to reach my hundred. And I just got this strong feeling that this is that ball where he would bowl a short of length bouncer. It was the only one in the innings where I went back inside my crease got all set for the ball. He actually balled exactly the same ball I had seen in my dream and I hit him for a six exactly the same way to reach my hundred. I went for a hook shot and normally I don't do that. Something inside just told me inside that this is the moment, just do it. I went up to Veeru and told me this is the second time I have played this shot, the first was in my dream. Then I moved back to my normal stance.

You also describe a hilarious incident with Anjali in a movie hall.

I could never go out publicly without being mobbed so we had to make adjustments. When we were dating, we went to see Roja in Mumbai in 1993. I put on a wig, a false moustache and glasses. But in the interval the glasses broke and in my panic the moustache came out to. There was a huge ruckus in the hall and we had to run away half through the film.

What do you plan to do in your second innings?

The first innings was all about excitement, being competitive and chasing my dreams on the field. The second innings is about giving back to people as much as I can, and in return to expect satisfaction. I have been with an NGO called Apnalaya for 20 years but it was difficult to be there when I was playing. Now I have promised them more direct involvement. I am also donating part of the proceeds from this book to ending malnutrition in children and providing clean water for the underprivileged.

The expectations from me continue. And I realise that in this innings I do not have a bat in my hand. On my 40th birthday , I developed an initiative with a team to light up villages.We are pursuing this idea very passionately through the Spreading Happiness Indiya Foundation. I know it sounds silly and I can't do it on my own. The whole nation has to participate. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is also something I'm passionate about.

What about your work as an MP?

Three months ago, the PM asked each MP to create a model village and I have adopted a village in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. I am also working with UNICEF to increase awareness about hygiene, with emphasis on hand-washing and sanitation.

Do you see a role for yourself in politics?

No, I don't see myself in politics. I share my ideas with the concerned people and that is my contribution.

Will you push your ideas in Delhi as an MP?

I have shared my ideas with the PM and the details with his team. They were fantastic and the follow-up has been really good. They were very receptive, especially the PM. While the adoption of the village has been implemented with the support of the local administration, I also did my bit to help the locals when Jammu and Kashmir was ravaged by floods.

Do you see a role for yourself in cricket as a coach or administrator?

At this stage I am focusing on other things. I continue to help few players. When the team is travelling we speak on the phone and whatever I observe I tell them, but not in any official capacity. If I can have access to players or they can have access to me, then that is what matters.

You are heavily involved in the Indian Soccer League. What are your plans for promoting other sports?

Sports for all is something I have discussed with the PM. From the grassroots level, kids should be encouraged to play sports. Sport should become a subject in schools, where if you represent your school you get marks, more marks if you represent your state and even more if you play for your country. I am not saying that all children should become sportsmen but they should all engage in outdoor and physical activity. We have 62 million diabetes patients in India and if we don't change our lifestyle or eating habits, or the way we spend our day, then this figure will soon be 75 million. The idea is for children to be fitter.

Why can't India produce more champions in other sports?

In other countries, talent is identified as early as 5-6 years of age. We identify talent at 11-12 years. Some other guy in China has already had experience by then of 7-8 years. That much gap at a competitive level is too much. It is not a fair competition and whatever we achieve is because of sheer talent. We need better facilities.

Sachin though have lived your life in the media spotlight you have still managed to fill your book with surprises and it is a fast-paced easy read with unexpected twists. Now that your story is out in the public domain how does it feel to get it all off your chest?

We started this book three years ago and it has taken a lot of effort, spending a lot of hours recalling my wonderful and disappointing moments. It is a mixed package deal. It's relieving that everything is out in the book the way I wanted. There are a number of facts which people were not aware of as I did not entertain those things while I was playing. I wanted all my energy to be focussed only on scoring more and more runs and winning matches for India. Once I retired I wanted to pen it down. It wouldn't have been possible without my friend and co-writer Boria Majumdar who by sheer persistence kept me sitting for endless sessions and his enthusiasm and pointed questioning made this project animated and enjoyable.

New depreciation regime: Clarity needed on transitional provisions,

  BL 7 Nov 2014

The new depreciation regime is impacting corporate bottomlines in interesting ways this fiscal. While the new norms provide more flexibility to companies and are a step toward aligning with international practices, there is a need for more clarity on the transitional provisions, say audit experts.

Under the earlier company law, the Government prescribed the depreciation rates. However, the new company law has moved to specifying only the ‘useful life of assets’, which are seen to be lower than earlier industry estimates, while giving the companies room to deviate.

In late August, the Corporate Affairs Ministry clarified in Schedule II that the useful life of assets specified were indicative and not mandatory. This allowed companies to deviate from the ‘useful life’ norm. But, they needed to back this with technical certification.

Unlike in India, globally, depreciation rates are not statutorily prescribed for companies. Depreciation is used to record the decrease in life of a company’s assets. For accounting purposes, depreciation reflects the extent to which an asset has been used. From a Profit & Loss perspective, a higher depreciation hits net profit.

“The new provisions relating to depreciation provide flexibility to companies to reflect the depreciation charge based on the useful life pattern applicable to the assets. These provisions are getting aligned with the global accounting norms, where each entity is required to estimate the useful life of an asset, based on its usage/replacement pattern,” said V Balaji, Partner, Deloitte Haskins and Sells.

Ashok Haldia, former Secretary of the CA Institute, said the new company law had provided flexibility on depreciation, but with checks and balances. “The new system is better, as it takes into account the useful life of asset,” Haldia said.

That said, experts would like some clarity with regard to the treatment of assets that don’t have a ‘useful life’ as on the date of shift to the new company law provisions.

Balaji said there could be situations where a company applies a ‘useful life’ that is different from that specified in the 2013 Act and, based on this, determines that the balance life of an asset is ‘Nil’ as on the date of transition to the new norms.

“It is not clear whether the transition provision specified in Schedule II will be available for charging the net carrying value of such asset to the opening retained earnings, or whether the net carrying value should be charged to the ‘Profit and Loss’ account in line with the accounting standards. A clarification in this regard will enable ensuring consistency of accounting practice across companies”, he said.

IMPACT ON COMPANIES

Concor and TCS are two instances where the change in depreciation policy had a significant impact on their financials in the first half this fiscal.

For instance, Container Corporation of India (Concor), which revised the depreciation rates, booked ₹ 98.48 crore higher depreciation for the quarter-ended September 30, 2014. Also, for certain assets—where it reckoned that there was no useful life beyond April 1, 2014—it adjusted the carrying value against the retained earnings.

As for TCS, which too revised its depreciation policy and also changed methodology, the depreciation charge for the six months ended September 30, 2014 was higher ₹ 102.59 crore.

The effect relating to the period prior to April 1, 2014 is net credit of ₹ 489.75 crore (excluding deferred tax of ₹ 118.90 crore) which has been shown as an ‘Exceptional Item’ in the statement of profit and loss, according to the notes forming part of the latest quarterly financial statements.

Basically, the new depreciation norms could work either way for the bottomlines of companies, depending on the range and age of assets that they have.

Foreign investors :Why are foreign investors leaving?

Time to leave Since nothing seems to work maradonna 8888/shutterstock.com

BL November 7, 2014:

Instead of wrangling over FDI limits in new sectors, we need to see which Indian markets will work for them

  

Keen about convincing global investors that India isn’t a lost cause for FDI (foreign direct investment), the Government has been at pains to reassure them in the ongoing India Economic Summit. So you have the Finance Minister dutifully mentioning all the hot button issues that are said to vex foreign investors: retrospective taxation, land acquisition laws, mining rights, labour reforms.

But will this lead to an FDI surge? Don’t be too sure.

In recent years, there have been a number of marquee global names who have either reviewed their India plans or have scaled down their operations here: Nokia, Posco, ArcelorMittal in manufacturing, Fidelity, AIG, ING, New York Life in financial services, Walmart and Carrefour in retail.

Studying these cases suggests that when a foreign firm decides to pack up and leave the country, it is seldom because of a single pain point. Some serious research into each case is essential for the Centre to gain a better insight into what really drives FDI decisions.

Tax terrorism, really?

Take the case of Nokia, which recently shuttered its mobile phone manufacturing unit near Chennai, at one time one of its largest facilities worldwide. The reason most often cited for this is the unresolved tax dispute with Indian authorities.

In 2013, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) raised a tax demand on this unit for not deducting tax on the royalty payments it made to its Finnish parent for software used in mobile handsets. The issue went into litigation and by the time Nokia’s parent had inked a deal to sell the business to Microsoft, the disputed amount of ₹3,000 crore had inexplicably swelled to ₹21,000 crore. With the CBDT freezing the unit’s assets, it was left out of the deal and Nokia finally decided to mothball it this week.

The tax authorities have certainly not acquitted themselves well in this case. It is difficult to explain why they waited for seven years after the unit commenced or why they raised such an exorbitant demand. But if this seems like a straightforward case of ‘tax terrorism’ bringing a global firm to its knees, there were other factors at play too.

For one, when it got embroiled in the tax dispute, Nokia was already losing market share in the Indian market, with the new breed of smartphones replacing its old-world feature phones. The Chennai facility mainly manufactured older feature phones. Two, given the shortage of skilled labour and infrastructure for full-fledged handset manufacture, Nokia’s Chennai unit functioned mainly as an assembly line for imported components, using plentiful low-cost labour. The question is whether the depreciating rupee and rising labour costs in India were also key factors that prompted Nokia to reconsider this investment.

Therefore, to really prevent a repeat of the Nokia episode, policymakers need to know what primarily drove the handset maker’s decision to quit India. Was the tax demand just the last straw for a facility that was already losing its competitive edge? Though the Vodafone tax case is frequently cited as damning evidence of India’s whimsical tax regime, let’s not forget that Vodafone is still present and thriving in India. Maybe the question we need to ask is why Vodafone is still so bullish on India despite being the object of ‘tax terrorism’.

Red tape or market conditions?

If it is tax tangles that are oft cited reasons for multinationals to quit India, global metal majors such as Posco, ArcelorMittal and the Vedanta group are said to have shelved some of their large projects because of red tape, land acquisition delays and non-availability of mines.

In July 2013, South Korean steel major POSCO made headlines after it decided to scrap its 6 million tonne steel plant in Karnataka, citing “market conditions and significant delays in acquiring land”. This project had been flagged off just three years before, in June 2010, at the Karnataka government’s Global Investor Meet.

This pullout, along with ArcelorMittal’s announcement two days later that it too was reviewing its Odisha steel project, attracted the usual criticism about how red tapism and policy uncertainties were forcing big investors to flee the country. Yet, POSCO has persisted with its (other) 12 million tonne Odisha steel project for 10 years now, despite very similar hurdles. Only last week, its chairman categorically stated that they “would never quit the project”.

Therefore, it is difficult to say if it was red tape that really prompted POSCO to shelve its Karnataka plant. There is a good possibility that the global steel glut, domestic slowdown and over-supply in the domestic steel market had an equal role to play in the decision.

FDI limits don’t matter

But if policymakers need to stop taking public statements at face value, they also need to change their attitude to FDI.

A number of global firms across sectors have decided to call it quits in India. Yet, regulators persist with the belief that all India needs to do to attract a flood of foreign capital, is to open up more sectors to FDI.

In fact, FDI relaxations often seem to be made with some sort of social objective in mind. So if India needs a supply of affordable homes and if its realty companies are neck-deep in debt, FDI in construction is promptly allowed to sort out this problem. If insurance penetration is abysmal and most insurers are loss-making, lo, we open it up to more FDI. If domestic airlines are burning up cash at a furious pace, foreign ones are expected to swoop in and rescue them.

But you can be sure that foreign investors who are looking to invest in India don’t share this charitable perspective. If they’re considering India at all, they’re doing it for hard business reasons. Therefore, while Indian policymakers may be keen to promote FDI in sectors which are loss-making and perpetually hungry for capital, foreign investors may not be enamoured of investing in these at all.

This could be why Indian financial services have seen an exodus of global players. The mutual fund industry, despite allowing 100 per cent FDI, has seen Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, AIG, Temasek, Standard Chartered and a string of other foreign players exit. The insurance industry, despite a pending bill in Parliament to hike FDI limits, has seen New York Life, Aviva, Aegon and several others throw in the towel.

Maybe what India needs to attract FDI is a completely different mindset. Instead of wrangling over which new sector needs higher FDI limits, why not ask prospective investors first about where they see the most opportunity? This initiative, combined with all-out efforts to retain global majors already in India, may be all the advertisement India needs to become the global hotspot for foreign investors.

Burger King : To open first restaurant in India tomorrow

 BLNov 7 2014

Come Sunday, and American fast food chain Burger King will throw open the doors of its first restaurant in India.

According to Burger King India’s Facebook page, the company will open its first restaurant at Select Citywalk Mall in South Delhi on November 9.

Buzz in social media

The announcement has created a buzz in social media networks even before the launch, as Burger King India’s pre-launch campaign introduces Indian consumers to the concept of the “Whopper” and giving a sneak-peek into its menu through its Twitter handle and Facebook page. Burger King India’s Facebook page has already garnered over a lakh fans.

Keeping in mind the Indian palate, the fast-food chain has tweaked its menu to include vegetarian options such as Spicy Bean Royale, Paneer King Melt and Veg Chilli Cheese Melt.

Famous for its beef burgers, Burger King India will be offering mutton whoppers besides chicken burgers. The burger chain earlier hit news when it decided to give a limited time offer to consumers in Delhi to pre-order their burgers by buying whopper-vouchers on e-commerce site eBay India at promotional prices and grab Burger King merchandise that can be redeemed on Sunday.

Rival brands

In a statement earlier this week, Uma Talreja, Chief Marketing Officer, Burger King India, said: “Given that our guests are passionately expressing their love for the whopper online, it made sense to put it online for them to get a sneak peek into what is coming soon.”

Burger King India is entering India at a time when brands such as Fatburger and Johnny Rockets have already forayed into India, while McDonalds and others already have a presence in metros and tier-2 towns.

According to a report by Technopak –Indian Food Trends 2014, “The food service industry has registered swift growth in the past decade, with boóth international and homegrown chains booming.

“It is projected to grow further, at a double-digit rate, over the next five years.”

Hedge funds : pump $525m into Indian tech startups in Jan-Oct

Samidha Sharma,TNN | Nov 8, 2014, 06.17 AM IST

MUMBAI: Spurred by the fast-paced growth of Indian technology startups, a new set of hedge funds is starting to lay bets on private internet ventures as valuations soar for these companies. While Wall Street biggie Tiger Global invested early on in Flipkart — which is now valued at $7 billion — and a dozen other internet startups, a bunch of new names like Steadview Capital, Lionrock Capital, Tybourne Equity Fund and Falcon Edge have entered the domestic startup ecosystem in the past one year eyeing future returns. 

This has resulted in overall investments from hedge funds in the consumer tech sector going up to $525 million this year (January to October) against $133 million last year, a four-fold jump, according to data compiled by Venture Intelligence for TOI. The number of deals has increased from twelve in 2013 to eighteen till October this year. 

While venture capitalists invest for the long term, involving themselves with startups closely at an early stage, hedge fund investments may seem like a risky proposition, especially for younger startups. Coming at a time when Indian tech startups are drawing frothy valuations, hedge funds are seen as pushing these valuations further up. 

Tarun Davda, a director at the US venture fund Matrix Partners India, said, "The Indian market dynamics have changed very rapidly — there is political stability, a large and fast growing internet user base, increase in mobile smartphone penetration and the emergence of early market leaders in several sectors. Many of these hedge funds have invested in similar businesses in other markets and have got good returns. They understand that the Indian market is finally ripe for picking ... and they are willing to pay a valuation premium." 

The New York-based Tiger Global, which has already invested upwards of $600 million in Flipkart, is particularly active in India. Its portfolio includes Myntra (acquired earlier this year by Flipkart), Olacabs, online classified player Quikr, and a Polyvore-type social commerce site Limeroad, besides others. 

Funds like Hong Kong-based Steadview Capital (Olacabs, Urban Ladder and Savaan) and the New York fund Falcon Edge, which has invested in Housing.com, are aggressively chasing some of the mid-to-late stage startups, people privy with the matter said. An investor with a VC firm who did not want to be named said that hedge funds typically have a short-term thinking and usually follow a momentum-driven investing thesis. They are not as helpful in building the business on the ground. But Indian entrepreneurs seem to think otherwise as they close deals with these hedge funds. 

"These hedge funds are mostly co-investing with VCs in startups that have scaled up. They are spotting the opportunities now because a handful of these companies may go public when they can exit and make handsome returns," said Harish H V, partner at Grant Thornton India. 

Sachin, :Statesman in the making? Tendulkar doesn’t think so

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar at the launch of his autobiography at the Lord's Cricket Ground in London on Friday. PTI

At his book launch in London, Sachin hints at ‘major’ plans for cricket in India

Sachin Tendulkar is in discussions with India’s central government about the execution of a major “proposal” that he hopes to be involved with as part of his retirement plans. Tendulkar, who declined to give further details of his project aside from confirming that it was to do with sports, made the revelation at a press conference for the UK launch of his much-awaited autobiography, Playing it My Way, at Lord Cricket Ground in central London.

Tendulkar, who arrived at the press conference with his wife, declared that while a life in politics was “not an option” for him, he would nevertheless be publicly engaged – both with causes that he already supports (this includes two charities, Apnalaya to provide financial empowerment for disadvantaged women, and Spreading Happiness Foundation to provide lighting across rural India) and with the proposal already discussed with the government.

“I realize there are responsibilities on me and expectations of me – on and off the field,” he said. “Recently I met the PM and shared my vision with him…and met his team after that.” Tendulkar launched his autobiography on Wednesday this week in Mumbai and it has already achieved record hardback sales in India of 150,000 (with 200,000 copies printed in the country) beating sales of Steve Jobs’ biography and Dan Brown, publishers Hodder & Stoughton said at the press conference hosted by former England skipper Nasser Hussain.

Clearing the air

While the book has already grabbed headlines for some of the behind-the-scenes revelations it contains, Tendulkar said he had never intended to create a controversy. “The intention was not to create headlines; the intent was to tell my story,” he said. When I was playing I felt that my energy should only be focused on one direction – I honestly didn’t have time for anything else, including to respond to various retaliations... now my career is over I thought it was only fair to bring this out…to let them know what I’ve been through.”

He said remarks about Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting were not intended as criticisms. “I have gone on record saying they were some of the greatest players who have played the sport…it’s not about negatives it’s about the whole picture.”

Asked about who he thought would win the next World Cup to be played in Australia, Tendulkar named Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand as the “dark horse.” He said India could also spring a surprise – though dismissed England to laughter at the press conference.

H 7 Nov 2014

Interview, :Allow companies to make money in India — and redeploy it there: Anil Agarwal

ET 7 Nov 2014

discussing ways ahead for revival of India’s economy. Anil Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta, spoke with Sanjiv Shankaran about India’s natural resource policy, his company’s Odisha experience — and why he shifted to London:

You talk about unlocking India’s resource potential — what does that mean?

Whether America or Europe, all have grown because of their natural resources. In India, we have either not made efforts to develop our natural resources or we’ve always thought we are an import-based economy — we import 90% oil, 100% gold and 100% copper. Import bill is going to grow.

We have a fear in India of depletion. When we took over Hindustan Zinc, we were told, you have a reserve of five years. We increased production by 10 times — today, we have reserves of 40 years.

We have so much natural resource which requires exploration. We need at least 30 of the world’s best companies, as China has . If any large country doesn’t meet at least 50% of its energy requirements, it will always remain poor.

Have you found governments open to this?

Yes. I’ve always said self-disclosure along with penalties instead of clearance is the best policy.

Have an open, transparent policy. Allow companies to come to India and make money. Create an atmosphere where they will redeploy the money in India.

Is there enough trust for self-disclosure?

You have to take a chance. In natural resources, on average, 60% of revenue goes to government. It is the biggest money earner for government which has to keep it transparent. Wherever there has to be exploration, we should be liberal. The biggest thing lacking in India is exploration policy. Thousands of miners should be supported for exploration.

As Vedanta head, how did you deal with recent uncertainty in India?

We have gone through a lot of pain. I am a son of the soil, i understand. In India, you need to have a lot of patience.

I’ve raised $30 billion abroad in the last 12-13 years and invested in India. Focus has started. I believe this government will be transparent.

What kind of contract would you want with government on oil?

If it’s revenue-sharing, it will be simple and straightforward. If it’s a question of exploration and development, it can go to the bidder willing to pay the highest royalty — but it must go through an auction-like process.

In a democratic country, people expect a transparent process.

You faced challenges in Odisha. Aren’t there trust issues now?

It has to be win-win. We have to carry our society. We have to find a way in a transparent manner.

We need these resources. We can either import or develop them in a sustainable manner. We cannot develop them in a wrong manner. I am hopeful.

Why did you move to London?

If i had not gone to London, i would not have been able to raise $30 billion.

My being there was to establish an Indian vehicle in Vedanta in London — where people can invest in Vedanta to be invested in India.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.