Videocon Group ge

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Type	Public (BSE: 511389)
Industry	Conglomerate
Founded	1979
Founder(s)	Nandlal Madhavlal Dhoot
Headquarters	Gurgaon, India
Key people	Venugopal Dhoot (Chairman)
Products	Consumer Electronics Home Appliances Components Office Automation Mobile phones Wireless Internet Petroleum Satellite television Power
Revenue	US$ 4 billion (2010)
Employees	5,000 (2010)
Website	www.videocon.com videoconworld.com

Videocon is an industrial conglomerate headquartered in Gurgaon (NCR Delhi) with interests all over the world, and is an Indian multinational company. The group has 17 manufacturing sites in India and plants in China, Poland, Italy and Mexico. It is also the third largest picture tube manufacturer in the world.^[1][2] The group is a USD 4 billion global conglomerate.

Corporate profile[link]

The Videocon group has an annual turnover of 4 billion USD, making it the largest consumer electronic and home appliance companies in India. Since 1998, it has expanded its operations globally, especially in the Middle East.^[1]

Today the group operates through six key sectors: The Brand Trust Report, 2011 has ranked Videcon as the 42nd most trusted brand in India among the top 300 brands.

Consumer electronics[link]

In India the group sells consumer products like Colour Televisions, Washing Machines, Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Microwave ovens and many other home appliances, selling them through a Multi-Brand strategy with the largest sales and service network in India.^[3]

Mobile phones[link]

In November 2009 Videocon launched its new line of Mobile Phones^[4]. Videocon has ever since launched a no. of Innovative handsets ranging from Basic Colour FM phones to High End Android Devices. And in February 2011, Videocon Mobile Phones launched the revolutionary concept of ZERO paise per second with pre-bundled simcards of Videocon mobile services along with 7 of its Handset Models.

Colour picture tube glass[link]

Videocon is one of the largest CPT Glass manufacturers in the world, operating in Mexico, Italy, Poland and China.

Oil and gas[link]

An important asset for the group is its Ravva oil field with one of the lowest operating costs in the world producing 50,000 barrels of oil per day.^[5]

DTH[link]

In 2009, Videocon launched its DTH product, called 'd2h'. As a pioneering offer in the Indian DTH market, Videocon offered LCD & TVs with built-in DTH satellite receiver with sizes 19" to 42". This concept in the DTH service is relatively new in the presence of other players like ZEE tv's Dishtv, Tata Sky, Air tel Digital Tv and Reliance's BIG TV providing only the set top box.

Telecommunication[link]

Videocon Telecommunications Limited has license for mobile service operations across India. It launched its services on 7 April 2010 in Mumbai.

Acquisition of Thomson SA[link]

Videocon through its Wholly Owned Offshore Subsidiary acquired the Color Picture Tube (CPT) businesses from Thomson S.A having manufacturing facilities in Poland, Italy, Mexico and China along with support research and development facilities.

Acquisition rationale[link]

The acquisition came at a time when Thomson was facing a fall in demand in developed markets for television with CPTs and was moving more towards Flat-screen and Plasma Television. However, Videocon saw an opportunity in the emerging countries for CPTs and hence pursued with the acquisition. Besides, the acquisition gave Videocon, the access to advanced technology giving the company control over an R&D facility in Agnani, Italy. The major reasons behind this acquisition were:^[6]

Cost cutting – Videocon was better positioned to shift the activities to low-cost locations and also it could integrate the operations with the glass panel facility in India with the CPT manufacturing facilities acquired from Thomson S.A. Videocon wanted to leverage its position in the existing parts of the business and this acquisition would give it a strong negotiation position and could reduce impact of glass pricing volatility. Videocon could also reduce the costs by upgrading and improving the existing production lines.

Vertical Integration – The acquisition helped Videocon in vertically integrating its existing glass-shell business where it had been enjoying substantially high margins.^[7] Videocon’s glass division had the largest glass shell plant in a single location. This gave the company an unrivaled advantage in terms of economies of scale and a leadership position in the glass shell industry. The acquisition also gave Videocon a ready-market for its glass business and it was part of Videocon’s long-term strategy to have a global vertically-integrated manufacturing facility.

Rationalization of Product Profile – Videocon modified its product profile to cater to the changing market needs like moving away from very large size picture tubes to smaller ones.^[8]

Apart from the overall strategy Videocon also had a plan on the technological front. It wanted to improve the setup for the production line and line speed post-merger. Its focus was to increase sales while reducing the costs and thereby improving the productivity of the existing line. The company also wanted to foray in a big way into LCD panels back-end assembly . On the sales front the company wanted to leverage on the existing clients of Thomson and build relation as a preferred supplier to maximise sales. Also, Videocon could benefit from OEM CTV business with the help of Videocon’s CTV division, invest for new models and introduction of new technologies.^[9]

Thomson’s perspective[link]

In 2004 Thomson planned entry into the high-growth digital media and technology business. Also, Thomson wanted to exit consumer and electronics businesses as they were incurring significant losses. After sale of its TV business to Chinese group TCL, and Tubes to Videocon, Thomson divested from the audio/video accessories business which was the last unit of its consumer electronics business. The need to divest are quite evident from the losses that it incurred in these businesses particularly that the unit that it sold off to Videocon, the Optical Modules activity, and the Audio/Video & Accessories businesses which totalled around €749 million for 2005. Moreover Thomson had done some acquisitions that were in line with boosting their revenues in the following years. ^[10]

Other competitors for the acquisition[link]

When Videocon entered the race for the colour picture tubes manufacturing capacity of Thomson SA in November 2004, there were 16 other bidders. Videocon stood slim chances given the fact that it had to battle it out with players like LG, Philips, Samsung and Matsushita, Daewoo and several Chinese manufacturers but finally managed to close the deal. The deal catapulted Videocon into the No. 3 slot in the global pecking order for CPTs. An official of Videocon said on the deal "The word is out in the world that India and Indian companies are not just a good bet by themselves, but also a hedge against China.“ ^[11]

Pre-merger scenario analysis[link]

CPT industry is affected by many competitive factors such as change in the consumer preferences, the product offer strategy of retailers, the progress made by alternative technology manufacturers, capacity adjustment facility of competitors etc. Based on all of these factors there were two scenarios that emerged from the 2005 budget of Videocon. The first scenario is a conservative one. It mainly assumes Price pressures similar to those in the past(-8 to -12%),capacity reduction over a period of two years, a gradual shift to newer technologies like True Flat and good amount of growth for LCD makers.

The second scenario is a more aggressive one in term of trends predicted. It assumes that the switch to TrueFlat would be faster, more overcapacity, more competition from LCD manufacturers and rising price strategy pressures in general. The second scenario obviously requires an industrial strategy which is more adapted to the environment.

However even if the second scenario arises,Videocon believes there is an opportunity in the CRT business. Though it is very obvious that in the developed markets of the western world the demand is shifting towards the flat panel side(FPD it is expected to contribute 70% of TV market in these regions),in the emerging markets like BRIC CRT still holds fort. CRT holds a dominant 70% share in these markets. When translated into number of units the demand is more than 100 million units. As Videocon is primarily based in these countries, it hopes to harness the value of the Thomson acquisition in the coming years.^{[citation needed]}

Post merger situation (2008)[link]

Videocon has not been able to turn the plant around in Italy still. However it is getting support from the local government(which want to prevent job cuts) in form of grants. The government is in fact trying to set up a Greenfield venture in form of a LCD manufacturing facility in partnership with Videocon. The banks are also supporting Videocon and with help from all these quarters Videocon expects to turn around the plant in Italy.^[12] The Thomson plant has not turned around in Mexico as well and in fact production has been reduced over there.In Poland,the situation is more promising and Videocon hopes that plant over there will get in black in the very near future.^[13] However the surprise has been in the Chinese market .Despite facing a highly competitive market Videocon has managed to turn a plant around while the other is on its way. In China Videocon is adopting a different strategy for manufacturing CTVs as the local players dominate the market .It plans to supply these players by taking advantage of low-cost nature of mainland(the number targeted by it about 6 million CPTs).^[14]

Role of local government in the acquired units[link]

Italy[link]

This article or section reads like an editorial or opinion piece and may require cleanup. Please improve this article by rewriting this article or section in an encyclopedic style to make it neutral in tone. Please see WP:No original research and WP:NOTOPINION for further details. (March 2012)

The LCD television segment is one of the fastest in terms of growth rate in Italy. The compounded growth rate is projected to be around 70% in the next few years. Videocon in partnership with the local government is going for a Greenfield venture in this segment. The Italian central government is giving a euro 180 million grant whereas the regional authorities are giving a 40 million grant. Videocon would itself pitch in with about euro 300 million whereas bank loans would provide a further 700 million.

update january 2012

Unfortunately Videoconn after the high millions grant , did not succeded with the promised investments and left italy with a fist of flie. Now thompson is a empty company and people are at home unemployed. they just need the brand thomson to have some copyrighted inventions from thomson itself

China[link]

In the Thomson plant located in China the local Chinese Government is the minority shareholder.

Mexico[link]

When Videocon acquired Thomson’s CPT business, it also gained control of Thomson’s Mexican plants. However Videocon Industries has a view that it would expand in the country only if the government gives it enough incentives. Videocon is demanding a 25-30% cash benefits from the government of Mexico.

Thomson’s exit from Videocon[link]

Thomson is looking to sell out its stake in Videocon (a 10 percent stake via GDRs) and in most likelihood it would be bought by Videocon itself. Thomson would be exiting at a loss as it had acquired the stake at around Rs 400 per share (approximately equal to $10 per share).The deal is expected to happen at current market prices. Videocon’s GDR is currently traded at around $5.06 on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. On the Bombay stock exchange its trading around Rs 150 against the 52 week high of Rs 868 in Jan 2008. Another point to be noted is that this won’t attract the market regulator’s “creeping acquisition” norm which comes into force once they acquire more than 5% stake,as the deal would be an overseas one. ^[15]

Possible purchase of General Electric's Appliance division[link]

On May 23, 2008, Videocon announced that it is studying an invitation from General Electric (GE) to bid for its century-old appliances division, which it has put up for sale.^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Videocon Mobile
• Videocon d2h satellite

Venugopal Dhoot (born 30 Sep 1944 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian businessman. According to Forbes Magazine, his wealth in 2009 is $2.65 billion.[1] He is said to be the eighteenth richest man in India.^{[citation needed]}

He is an alumnus of the College of Engineering, Pune, India. He was born in a Marwari-Banya family. The Baniya community hail from Rajasthan, and are known for producing most of India's finest entrepreneurs and industrialists. He is married to Rama Dhoot and has two children, Anirudh and Surbhi.

Career[link]

His father, the late Nandlal Madhavlal Dhoot, was an Indian industrialist who made his earlier fortune in the sugarcane and cotton industry. Nandlal Dhoot was the founder of Videocon Corporation and other businesses ventures such as Videocon Electronics. The company's major breakthrough came when it received one of India's first licenses to manufacture color televisions.

As of 2008, Venugopal Dhoot is its chairman, and it now makes a wide range of electronic consumer goods. Venugopal Dhoot is credited with expanding Videocon Industries from a billion dollar company into a multi-billion dollar business conglomerate spanning the globe. Videocon Industries is active in many countries including India, Australia, the United States, China and Europe. It has a major presence in consumer electronics, telcommunications, oil exploration, glass manufacturing, semiconductors and the Asian entertainment industry. The company recently bought a color picture tube unit from the French company Thomson SA, and a refrigerator business from Swedish company Electrolux.

Personal life[link]

Venugopal Dhoot is an avid cricket fan and accomplished flautist. The Videocon School of Cricket launched in Kolkata, India under the guidance of former Indian Cricket Captain, Saurav Ganguly, trains and promotes young cricketers of India in the age group of 10 to 17. Venugopal Dhoot is also an environmental enthusiast who is credited for completing a project for planting 2,000,000 teak trees across India. His brother, Rajkumar, is a member of the Indian Parliament. He is a vegetarian for spiritual reasons.^[1]

References[link]

• Forbes website
• Chairman
• An online magazine article
• Venugopal dhoot biography
• Dhoot brothers in huddle to choose Venugopal’s successor
• Intreview with Dhoot

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Ayushmann Khurrana
Born	(1984-09-14) September 14, 1984 (age 27) Chandigarh, Punjab, India
Occupation	Television Anchor, Actor,Singer, Video Jockey, Previously Radio Jockey, Reality Show Contestant
Years active	2002–2007 (theatre) 2007–2008 (radio) 2008 – present (Television Presenter) 2012 – Present (Actor)
Spouse	Tahira Kashyap
Parents	P. Khurrana, Mrs. Poonam Khurrana
Relatives	Aparshakti Khurrana (brother)

Ayushmann Khurrana is an Indian Television anchor and Actor. He has been a well-known TV presenter on Indian Television and has recently entered Indian Film Industry with the popular film Vicky Donor.

Early life and education[link]

Ayushmann Khurrana is a native of Chandigarh. He studied at St. John’s High School and DAV College in Chandigarh. He majored in English Literature and has done Masters in Mass Communication from School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. He has been active in theatre for 5 years. He was the founder member of DAV College ’s Aaghaaz and Manchtantra , which are active theatre groups in Chandigarh. He has conceptualized and enacted in street plays and won prizes in national fests like- Mood Indigo (IIT Mumbai),Oasis(BITS Pilani) and St. Bedes Simla. He also won a Best Actor award for playing Ashwatthama in Dharamvir Bharati’s Andha Yug.

Career and Later Life[link]

Ayushmann Khurrana started his career when he turned out to be the winner in MTV Roadies Season 2.^[1] After finishing studies, his first job was a Radio Jockey at BIG FM, Delhi. He hosted the show Big Chai - Maan Na Maan, Main Tera Ayushmann and also won the Young Achievers Award in 2007 for it.^[2] After radio, Ayushmann moved on to become a Video Jockey on MTV with Pepsi MTV Wassup, The Voice of Youngistaan, an informative show for the youth.

He also worked in many other MTV shows as well like MTV Fully Faltoo Movies "Cheque De India" and "Jaadoo Ek Baar".^[3] He then turned as Television Anchor with a multiple-talent based reality show India's Got Talent on Colors TV which he co-anchored with Nikhil Chinapa ^[4] and Stripped which gave latest updates on the Indian TV industry with comic tinge, again on MTV. At the end of the year he was also the anchor of a singing reality show Music Ka Maha Muqqabla on STAR Plus.^[5]

Apart from hosting the second seasons of MTV Rock On on MTV and India's Got Talent on Colors, Ayushmann was also a part of the anchoring team of Extra Innings T20 for Indian Premier League Season 3 on SET Max with Gaurav Kapur, Samir Kochhar and Angad Bedi.^[6][7] Instead of hosting the 3rd season of India's Got Talent, Ayushmann took up the offer of anchoring the dance-based reality show Just Dance on STAR Plus^[8] judged by Hrithik Roshan, Vaibhavi Merchant and Farah Khan.

In 2011, he signed his first major Bollywood venture and began filming. The film was titled Vicky Donor^[9] and directed by Shoojit Sircar. This movie also marks actor John Abraham's debut as a producer.^[10] Vicky Donor released worldwide on 20 April 2012, and was a critical and commercial success.^[11].

Ayushmann also sang a song named Pani Da Rang in the film. In May 2012, it was announced that along with the crew of Vicky Donor, Ayushmann had signed his second Bollywood production as an actor in the film Hamaara Bajaj which is expected to go on floors in 2013.

Personal Life[link]

Ayushmann originally hails from Chandigarh and his family is still based there. His father Mr. P Khurrana, is a renowned astrolger and an author on the subject of astrology, while his mother Poonam is a house wife and a qualified M.A. in Hindi. His brother Aparshaktii is a Radio Jockey at BIG FM Delhi. The ambiance of literature at home influenced Ayushmnann as well and he took to writing as a hobby. He also maintains a blog where he writes in Hindi and it has been received very well by his admirers. He is married to his childhood sweetheart Tahira.

Career Chronology[link]

Television Shows Chronology[link]

Events Hosted[link]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ayushmann Khurrana at the Internet Movie Database
• Ayushmann Khurrana on Twitter
• Blog

See also[link]

• Vicky Donor
• Just Dance
• India's Got Talent
• MTV
• List of MTV VJs
• List of reality television show franchises

Shruti Haasan
Shruti Hassan at the Phoenix Market City in Pune, 2012
Born	Shruti Rajalakshmi Haasan (1986-01-28) January 28, 1986 (age 26) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Actress, Singer, Model, Music composer, Dancer
Years active	1992; 1997; 2000–present
Parents	Kamal Haasan Sarika Thakur

Shruti Haasan (born January 28, 1986) is an Indian actress, singer and music composer who has worked in South Indian film industry and Bollywood. Her parents are noted actors, Kamal Haasan and Sarika.^[1]

As a child artist, she sang in films and appeared in a guest role, before making her adult acting debut in the 2009 action drama, Luck. She later went on to win critical acclaim for her role in the Walt Disney fantasy film, Anaganaga O Dheerudu, Oh My Friend and 7aam Arivu. In 2012, she starred in Gabbar Singh, Telugu remake of Dabangg.

She has also continued her stint in music through work as a singer in Indian languages, a career in music direction beginning with her father's production Unnaipol Oruvan and her own music band and album.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Shruti Rajalakshmi Hassan was born to actors Kamal Hassan and Sarika in Chennai, India.^[2] Her younger sister Akshara represents India nationally for Ballroom Latin dancing.^[3] Haasan studied at Abacus in Chennai and moved to Mumbai to study psychology at St. Andrew’s College.^[4]

Hassan shifted her focus to cinema and music, and eventually travelled to the USA to continue to learn music at the Musicians Institute in California, before returning to Chennai.^[5] She has also had rhinoplasty to alter the appearance of her nose early in her film career.^[6]

Singing career[link]

Shruti Hassan at a concert in early 2007.

Shruti Haasan sang her first song aged just six in her father's Thevar Magan in the composition of Ilaiyaraaja. While in school, Haasan made her singing debut in the Hindi language film, Chachi 420, singing a duet with her father who also directed the film.^[7] Shruti sang the bilingual versions of the title theme, Rama Rama with her father, in Hindi and in Tamil for the movie Hey Ram. The album from Ilayaraaja, which was critically praised, won Haasan accolades for her efforts with Screen India saying that she "has the makings of a good singer, and with some training she should go great guns".^[8]

Shruti sang along with veteran singer K. J. Yesudas for the film En Mana Vaanil (2002) under Ilaiyaraaja's music. She has sung for Gautham Menon's Vaaranam Aayiram under the composition of Harris Jayaraj. As of November 2008, Haasan is also midway through her untitled debut album, which she has composed, written and sung, and is set for release in mid-2009.^[9] A further song was recorded with her voice for her Hindi film, Luck.

In September 2010, Haasan collaborated with Dave Kushner for the film, Hisss.^[10][11] Whilst Kushner composed the track, Shruti wrote the lyrics, sang and appeared in a promotional video for the film.^[12]

Acting career[link]

Shruti Haasan at a TeachAIDS recording session in Mumbai in 2010.

After pursuing a career in singing, Haasan also entered into modelling. She appeared in the Frappe! magazine of September 2007 and in Verve.

In 2000, Haasan made a cameo appearance as the daughter of Vallabhbhai Patel in the biopic of Mahatma Gandhi, in the Tamil-Hindi bilingual Hey Ram, directed by her father Kamal Haasan. After rejecting prominent film offers, most notably the lead role in Venkat Prabhu's Saroja, reports suggested in late 2007 that Haasan was set to make her full debut as a heroine in 2008 with a movie opposite Madhavan directed by Nishikanth Kamat.^[13] Despite Madhavan admitting that the news "was premature",^[14] she signed up to the film, which was titled, Endrendrum Punnagai,^[15] only to be stalled prior to production.^[16] Eventually Haasan signed up to Soham Shah's Luck opposite Imran Khan, a Bollywood film. However, despite the film gathering much publicity prior to release, it became a critical and commercial flop. She made her Telugu debut in January 2011, acting opposite Siddharth in the fantasy adventure film Anaganaga O Dheerudu directed by Prakash Kovelamudi son of director K. Raghavendra Rao. The film, co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, proved commercially unsuccessful as well.^[17][18] In mid 2010, Shruti was signed by A. R. Murugadoss to star opposite Surya Sivakumar in his next film 7aam Arivu, and the film's shoot began in June later that year.^[19] Shruti played Subha Srinivasan, a young scientist in the film, who hopes to re-activate the genes of 5th century Buddhist monk Bodhidharma and her performance in the film won appreciation from critics. The film opened to mixed reviews, but became commercially successful.^[20][21]

She has also given her voice to an HIV/AIDS education animated software tutorial created by the nonprofit organization TeachAIDS.^[22]

Music composing[link]

After much speculation, Shruti Haasan was finalized as the music composer of the Tamil film Unnaipol Oruvan which released in 2009.^[23] The bilingual was a remake of the successful Hindi film, A Wednesday!. The soundtracks of both the projects are separate. Apart from this, Shruti is also the vocalist of an alternative rock band The Extramentals.

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shruti Haasan

• Shruti Haasan at the Internet Movie Database

• Shruti Haasan on Facebook

Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor on the sets of DLF IPL Extraa Innings.
Born	(1981-02-25) 25 February 1981 (age 31) Delhi, India
Occupation	Actor, Dancer
Years active	2003–present
Parents	Pankaj Kapoor Neelima Azeem

Shahid Kapoor (born 25 February 1981^[1]) is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films. He is also a trained dancer.

Starting off his career by working in music videos and advertisements, Kapoor made his Bollywood debut as a background dancer in Subhash Ghai's Taal (1999). Four years later, he made his acting debut in Ishq Vishk (2003) and won a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance. Following through with films like Fida (2004) and Shikhar (2005), he had his first major commercial success with Sooraj R. Barjatya's Vivah (2006), his biggest commercial success, and followed it up with Jab We Met (2007) and Kaminey (2009), both of which earned him Best Actor nominations at the Filmfare ceremony.

Early life[link]

Kapoor was born to actor Pankaj Kapoor and actor/classical dancer Neelima Azeem on 25 February 1981. Kapoor's parents divorced when he was 3. After the divorce, he lived with his mother and maternal grandparents in Junaghad. He shared a good relationship with his father and stepmother Supriya Pathak. As far as his religious affiliation is concerned, Kapoor has stated in an interview that while his father is a Sikh and his mother is a Muslim, both his parents have taught him that he "should look at all religions without hatred and have compassion for every human being whatever his religion may be," saying that he believes that "there is one God up above."^[2]

As a child, he studied in Rajhans Vidyalaya, Mumbai. He has three half siblings: a sister named Sanah and brothers named Ruhaan and Ishaan Khattar; Ishaan acted with him in the movie Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi (2005). His maternal grandfather was Anwar Azeem, a noted Marxist journalist and author from Bihar.^[3] His great great grandfather was the film director, screenwriter, Urdu novelist and journalist Khwaja Ahmad Abbas more popularly known as K. A. Abbas. His mother Neelima is the daughter of Anwar Azeem, one of the greatest Urdu writers. K.A. Abbas in turn was the grandson of Hali, the chief protégé of Urdu poet, Ghalib.^[4][5]