Happiest Minds Technologies : Ashok Soota, Chairman & MD

http://www.happiestminds.com

Q&A: Ashok Soota, Chairman & MD, Happiest Minds

'I don't have any non-compete or non-poaching clause with MindTree'

Ashok Soota, founder chairman of MindTree, who recently left the company he co-founded in 1999, is preparing the grounds for his new venture. The new company called Happiest Minds, which is targeting niche businesses like R&D services, software product engineering, infrastructure management is bullish of achieving $100 million revenue within six years. Soota, chairman & MD of Happiest Minds Technologies, spoke to Pradeesh Chandran about his plans. Edited excerpts:

Its been just five days since you left MindTree and you have announced your new venture. You must have been planning this venture for long? For the past six months, I was planning to move out of MindTree. As mentioned, the reasons are personal. Now, I believe all that happened was for good. I never thought I would become an entrepreneur, but then MindTree happened. Then, I became a late-stage entrepreneur and finally now, I have become a serial entrepreneur. I will like to leave behind all that happened and focus on the future, since that is my destiny. The name of the company is Happiest Mind, and our new mission is happiest people can make happiest customers. As early as possible, we will open office in the US, Europe, in the UK, Singapore and also in India in the next five months. We will build the infrastructure and teams in these locations. We will start with sales and marketing and also some onsite customer services.

How do you plan to get a team in place? Have people from MindTree approached you?

I have just announced the company. We want to build a strong team that can focus on business and can achieve our target of $100 million in the next six years. We will get into multiple geography as early as possible. I have not spoken to anybody about building the organisation. By the time of the launch, I am sure we will be strong enough to compete in the market. When I announced my plan of starting a new venture, many people mailed me and expressed their interest to join me. I am planning to kick off the hiring process tomorrow. My second employee (his secretary for 18 years) will join on Wednesday.

There was speculation several employees in MindTree have approached you. Are you planning to hire any of them? 

Do you have any non-compete clause signed with MindTree?
Those are speculations. When I decided to resign, I received more than a 100 mails from people showing interest to join me. There were employees from MindTree and ex-MindTree employees. For building a skilled team, I need people with expertise in certain domains. I will look for talent from all over the industry and it does not matter from where they come. In fact, my intention is not only to hire from MindTree but from other companies as well. I have not spoken to anybody in MindTree about my plans of starting a new venture. We are looking for skilled employees now. Later next year, we are planning for campus hiring. When I resigned from MindTree on March 31, all my commitment with the company also got over. I don’t have any non-compete or non-poaching clause with MindTree.

Happiest Minds will focused on six major areas of business. These are also the key focus areas for MindTree also. Are you planning to give a direct competition to MindTree?
In the IT services business, all broad-based mid-size companies compete with each other for deals. Our plan is not only to compete with MindTree but others as well. Another thing is, we are focusing on energy and utility and healthcare, which MindTree has decided to move out of.

Are you planning to raise funds for the company? Any plans to liquidate your shares in MindTree?
I am in talks with two venture capitalists for raising funds and it may take four to six weeks to get the funds. For the initial part of the funding, I am using my personal finances. In future, after raising the VC money, I can raise money by liquidating some part of my shares in MindTree.

Source : Pradeesh Chandran, http://www.business-standard.com
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Happiest Minds Signs 25 Customers in Its First Year

365 Days, 9 Locations, 500 People and Counting

Sharp Focus on Disruptive Technologies Validated by the Market

Happiest Minds Technologies, a next-gen IT solutions & Services Company, celebrated the successful completion of its first year of operations. In a short span of one year, the company has gathered substantial business momentum with customer wins in US, UK and India with its sharp focus on disruptive technologies. Happiest Minds has also scaled its operations to 9 locations with plans to enter two additional geographies.

Milestones Achieved in the first twelve months

• 25 Customers, 500 People, 9 Locations
• Series A funding of US$ 45 million
• Finalist in Red Herring’s Asia Top 100 list
• Youngest company to receive ISO 27001 recognition
• International industry experts as members of the Advisory Board

Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, Happiest Minds, said, “Although it seems just like yesterday when we started Happiest Minds, I believe very few organizations could have done so much in the span of one year. We have created a Values driven organization, built a team of 500, won prestigious customers and laid the foundation for our future to fulfill our Mission of Happiest People. Happiest Customers.”

Vikram Gulati, MD & CEO, said, “Over the last one year, we have made tremendous progress and have been able to leverage the disruptive technologies like cloud, mobility, analytics, social computing and unified communications to create transformational solutions for our customers. Today, customers are looking for business benefits and quick results from IT. Our agility plays a significant role in meeting these requirements.”

Happiest Minds customer portfolio ranges from start-up companies to Fortune 500 organizations across industries such as Retail, Travel, Transportation, Hospitality, CPG, Manufacturing and Banking.

Some of the projects using disruptive technologies to deliver business impacting solutions include:

• Mobility solutions for one of the largest retailers in the US resulting in better In-store customer experience and operational efficiency.
• Analytics and Big Data solutions to a leading online travel portal to provide deeper understanding of customer preferences and behaviours.
• Social and Gamification solutions for a leading consumer products company resulting in increased user engagement.
• Web and Mobile product development for a leading US based loyalty solutions provider to create and manage marketing campaigns.
• Mobile application developer kit for a leading consortium of Telecom Majors resulting in increased developer participation.
• IP risk assessment and Business activity monitoring solutions for an innovative clean renewal energy provider in the US.
• Innovative web based customer interaction solution for a Personal Emergency Management Services company enabling rapid market entry.

Along with its existing offices in the US, UK and India, Happiest Minds is set to expand its sales offices in Singapore, Toronto, Continental Europe, Delhi and Mumbai. Happiest Minds will also open its second delivery facility in India.

About Happiest Minds Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Happiest Minds was launched in August, 2011 by Ashok Soota and a team of industry experts, with the mission to create Happiest People and Happiest Customers. Happiest Minds is a next gen IT solutions & services company, enabling organizations to capture the business benefits of emerging technologies of cloud computing, social media, mobility solutions, business intelligence, analytics and unified communications. Happiest Minds offers high degree of skills, IPs and domain expertise across a set of focused areas that include IT Services, Software Product Engineering, Infrastructure Management, Security, Testing and Consulting. Happiest Minds focus industries include Retail, CPG, Technology, Banking and Financial Services, Travel & Transportation, Manufacturing and Media & Entertainment. Solution focus areas are Multi-channel commerce, Demand driven supply chain and Social Media Analytics.

Headquartered in Bangalore, India, Happiest Minds has operations in the US and UK. It secured a $45 million Series A funding led by Canaan Partners, Intel Capital, Ashok Soota and is supported by its founders.

For more information visit www.happiestminds.com.

Source : http://www.happiestminds.com

V G Siddhartha : Owner of CCD Group

Siddhartha set to increase stake in Cafe Coffee Day holding company

V G Siddhartha, the owner of Coffee Day Group, is set to increase his stake in Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Limited, an arm of the group which holds the coffee retailing chain business — Café Coffee Day.

According to investment bankers close to Coffee Day Group, marquee investors like Sequoia Capital, Darby Private Equity,an arm of Franklin Templeton, IFC and Deutsche Group are among the investors understood to be holding stakes in Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Limited. These investors have over a period of years have invested around $80 million (Rs 360 crore) to fuel the expansion of the coffee retailing business. “It is likely that some of these investors are looking at paring their stake and Siddhartha is making this move to partly buy them out,” a banker close to the Coffee Day Group said. It is understood that Siddhartha will claw back his stake step by step. The management of Coffee Day Group were not available for comment.

For starters, it is understood that Siddhartha is raising a debt of Rs 125 crore for this move with a combination of Rs 100 crore NCDs (non-convertible debentures) as well as loan of Rs 25 crore. Bankers further added that external investors hold in the range of 35-40 per cent while the rest are held by the promoters.

It was during 2008-09 that Siddhartha pressed on the pedal of the coffee retailing chain raising private equity in quick succession that led to Café Coffee Day retailing presence expanding dramatically and its current count stands close to 1,300 cafes. It is understood that Siddhartha is raising this resources in Coffee Day Resorts Pvt Ltd’s (CDRPL), a privately-held company of Coffee Day Group. It was in this arm that Siddhartha raised a record $200 million during early 2010 from blue-chip global investors — KKR, Standard Chartered Private Equity and New Silk Route Partners.

The bankers further said that the fresh debt is secured by way of security cover/collateral of 2.2 times pledge of equity shares of Mindtree Ltd, Sical Logistics and ABCTL and by the personal guarantee of the promoter. It may be recalled Siddhartha holds around 18 per cent of MindTree and a significant stake in Sical Logistics.

Coffee Day Group, which straddles diverse businesses ranging from coffee retailing to furniture to wealth management to commercial realty to hospitality, has outlined a Rs 400 crore capital expenditure plan during the ongoing fiscal. It is likely to add around 300 cafes during this year at a time when the global coffee retailing major — Starbucks which recently opened its first cafe in Mumbai,India.

Also Read : http://nse2zoom.blogspot.com/2012/11/starbucks-comes-to-india-opens-first.html

Source : http://www.business-standard.com, Raghuvir Badrinath

Mindtree : Subroto Bagchi, who co-founded Mindtree with 10 others, including Soota, a former vice-chairman of Wipro

$1 bn goal: How Mindtree sorted out its problems and emerged stronger

The turning point for Mindtree was the acceptance that the reason for the decline in profitability was more internal than external.

Mid-sized software exporter MindtreeBSE -1.05 % has a simple philosophy to survive in India's competitive $100-billion IT services industry: Get back to the 'basics of doing business'. And, that's what the Bangalore-based company did when profits started to decline and then-chairman Ashok Soota decided to walk out two years ago. 

"We cleaned up our act and we did it decisively," says Subroto Bagchi, who co-founded Mindtree with 10 others, including Soota, a former vice-chairman of Wipro. 

"By the time we ended FY11 — in which Mindtree's profits had fallen over the previous year — we had a strategy in place: To get back to basics," adds Bagchi.

Mindtree has come a long way since its debut in 1999. Founded by 10 senior IT professionals from companies such as WiproBSE 0.34 % and Cambridge Technology Partners, Mindtree soon received its first round of funding from Walden International and Global Technology Ventures. 

During the initial days Bagchi focussed on ferreting out new leaders from within the organisation. In just six years, Mindtree's revenues crossed $100 million and it opted to go for a public listing in 2007. 

The timing wasn't the best. A year later, as the mortgage crisis in the US shook the rest of the world, Mindtree, too, took a hit. 

The company fell short of its revenue targets and profits plunged. The chairman's objective of hitting revenues of $1 billion became a pipe dream, with Mindtree's revenues between 2008 and 2010 remaining below $300 million. 

It was time for some drastic decision-making. In 2009, Mindtree announced it would go beyond its mainstay of software services.

It forayed into designing mobile handsets by acquiring the India R&D centre of Kyocera Wireless. That didn't help. 

The acquisition not only failed to bring in revenues, it also resulted in huge restructuring costs.

In 2010, Mindtree announced its exit from the mobile products business; and, a year later, chairman Soota announced his exit. "Setbacks build muscle tone into the organisation and, today, we are better trained than before," says Bagchi. 

In 2010-11, profits continued to decline — from a 24% fall in the first quarter to a 41% drop in the fourth quarter over a year ago. But Bagchi says this isn't relevant because Mindtree had begun growing its top line "admirably" at over 20%. The turning point for Mindtree was the acceptance that the reason for the decline in profitability was more internal than external. 

By April this year, Bagchi took over as chairman. And, under him, in an effort to do something unique, Mindtree set about cutting down on verticals that weren't delivering and started providing outsourcing services mainly to the manufacturing and banking & financial services sectors.

Bagchi says this helped Mindtree focus on building specialisation in chosen verticals, deep account mining and getting prepared for larger deals. The first glimmers of a comeback appeared in the final quarter of FY12 when Mindtree posted a 115% growth in profits over a year ago. 

In the September-ended quarter of the current fiscal year, Mindtree had 247 active clients and, at the end of FY12, it had four $20 million-plus customers from only one at the beginning of this period.

So, can Mindtree grow closer to the $1-billion goal? "If we do the right things the right way, we will get to the billion-dollar league," says Bagchi.

Source : INDU NANDAKUMAR,ET BUREAU 
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V G Siddhartha hikes stake in MindTree further to 21.56%

V G Siddhartha, Coffee Day Group’s chairman who was one of the first venture capitalists to back MindTree Limited more than a decade ago, is once again moving to cement his stake further in this mid-tier software exports company. The 51-year-old entrepreneur on Monday announced that he has acquired 3.84 per cent stake in MindTree for around Rs 95 crore from another early venture fund — Walden International. With this, Siddhartha — along with two of his companies Coffee Day Resorts and Global Technology Ventures — holds little more than 21.5 per cent. The promoter group holds 21.5 per cent.

Siddhartha’s move comes hardly a couple of months after he acquired the 11.8 per cent stake held by Ashok Soota, who quit as chairman of MindTree last year. Prior to that move, Siddhartha held 6.54 per cent in the company.

Siddhartha’s step to buy out Soota’s stake was precipitated after the latter’s sudden exit from MindTree during early 2011 due to various differences among the promoter group. Soota has since started a new software exports firm, Happiest Minds Technologies. For this, he had, in addition to his funding, raised private equity from Intel Capital.

It is understood that Siddhartha has paid out close to Rs 200 crore to effect this transaction. For this, he has raised debt through a non-banking financial company, besides internal resources. Siddhartha has earlier said he would not increase his stake beyond 26 per cent in MindTree.

After a rather rocky 2011, when MindTree revenues and margins were hit, the company for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012, posted a 115 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 68.9 crore. The revenues of the company for the same period stood Rs 5,25.7 crore reporting an year-on-year growth of 34.4 per cent. On a full-year basis, the company’s net profit stood at Rs 218.5 crore as against Rs 101.6 crore in 2010-11 registering a growth of 115.1 per cent.

A seasoned entrepreneur who started his career at J M Financial, Siddhartha has 10,000 acres of coffee estates in Chikmagalur of south-central Karnataka, and has expanded his businesses rapidly. His business is valued upwards of $1 billion and ranges from coffee retailing and exports, wealth management, waste management, logistics, furniture, hospitality, granites to SEZ development and food processing.

During 2010, Siddhartha had raised a record $200 million from blue-chip private equity funds KKR, Standard Chartered and New Silk Route in a move to fast expand his bouquet of businesses. Global Technology Ventures has also invested in marquee technology companies, including a chip-design firm Ittiam Software, GlobalEdge Technologies, besides a few others. GTV had a blockbuster exit from its investment in Kshema Technologies when it was sold to MphasiS Software. Bank of America was one of the limited partners in GTV, before being bought out by GTV.

MindTree’s scrip for the 2012 year rose from Rs 390 to 705 per share.

Source : http://www.business-standard.com, http://money.rediff.com

Devi Shetty's Narayana Hrudayalaya to conduct heart surgeries at world's cheapest rates

Frugal innovation: Devi Shetty's Narayana Hrudayalaya to conduct heart surgeries at world's cheapest rates

Soon, heart surgeries in India will be at world's cheapest rates

Narayana Hrudayalaya, a pioneer in low-cost cardiac care, is building a chain of hospitals that will carry out heart surgeries at the cheapest rates in the world, buttressing India's reputation as the Mecca for frugal innovation.
A series of design and operational advancements, ranging from construction techniques to post-operative care, will mean that an open heart surgery can be performed for as low as Rs 65,000, or about one-fourth the cost in a corporate hospital.

The Bangalore-based healthcare provider aims to reach 100 towns with a population of 500,000 to one million in the next seven years. The first multi-specialty hospitalat Mysore - in which the government of Karnataka has a 26% stake - will start operations this week.

Over the years, India has proven its expertise in creating world-class products and services at low cost, gaining from economies of scale. Tata Motors' small car Nano, the Aravind Eye Care System, Jaipur Foot prosthetic as well as Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital in Bangalore have been hailed as examples of frugal innovation.

The 200-bed, 1.5-lakh-square-foot Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital, set up with an investment of about Rs 45 crore - 80% cheaper than similar multi-specialty facilities - is built on a nine-acre plot. To begin with, the hospital, which has nine operation theatres, will have 23 doctors and about 40 nurses. "Charity is not sustainable, there has to be a business model," said Devi Prasad Shetty, cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya. "Innovations have to be affordable; a magic pill will not do."

Right from design and construction, Narayana Hrudayalaya has sought new ways to cut costs. It has kept the design compact, reduced empty spaces and used prefabricated structures. Also, instead of marbles and expensive furniture, the hospital has used simple tiles and low-cost seating, reducing the cost per bed to Rs 12-18 lakh, compared with Rs 60-80 lakh at other corporate hospitals.

"This is the lowest that is humanly possible; we have cut every bit of flab in the system," said Viren Prasad Shetty, 28, senior vice-president for strategy and planning at Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals.

He is the son of Devi Shetty and an alumnus of Stanford Graduate School of Business.

The high cost of infrastructure is a major limiting factor for healthcare providers. To bring down costs, Narayana Hrudayalaya is running the Mysore facility like a startup. "We have a concept of producing a profit-and-loss account daily," said Viren Shetty. "Every system is a creature of desperation and we feel this model is one of them. In India, we have been for long time selling family jewellery and land to pay for healthcare."

Though 2.5 million heart surgeries are required in India every year, only 90,000 are performed. The country needs 3 million additional beds to serve the current needs of the population. Narayana Hrudayalaya aims to add 30,000 beds in small-to-medium towns in the next five years.

The cost of an open heart surgery at the Mysore facility, which is expected to also treat patients from north Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu, will be 20% cheaper than the main Narayana Hrudayalaya hospitalin Bangalore.

Ashwin Naik, co-founder and CEO of Vaatsalya Hospitals, a chain of affordable healthcare facilities in semi-urban and rural areas, said there is a big gap in quality healthcare in India. "As government hospitals are not funded enough, this is throwing up opportunities for entrepreneurs."

"Aravind Eye Care System and Narayana Hrudayalaya have a history of pioneering low-cost approaches," he said, observing that he expects Narayana Hrudayalaya to be successful with this model as well. "An affordable healthcare model is sustainable because it offers volumes," said Dr Shetty.

Larsen & Toubro, India's biggest engineering company that built the Mysore hospital, was initially sceptical about undertaking the project under such a tight budget. "At first they said, it is not possible," said Viren Shetty, who expects the hospital to treat around 210,000 outpatients and perform 3,750 surgeries in the first year for revenues of Rs 18 crore. "We will break even in eight months."

Narayana Hrudayalaya also reduced capital expenditure by buying low-cost medical equipment from small Indian firms and having a pay-per-use model for the more expensive ones. Also, the electricity bill is expected to be much lower due to the absence of elevators and air-conditioning as well as better use of natural light. "Back at the main hospital, we get Rs 1 crore as electricity bill," said Shetty.

The hospital will also outsource some activities requiring special skill-sets like tele-radiology to its main hospital to ensure optimal utilisation of specialists. Similarly, activities such as claims processing, discharge summary preparation would also be outsourced to the larger Narayana Hrudayalaya facilities.

After Mysore, Narayana Hrudayalaya will open a similar hospital in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. "Once we are successful, this model can be easily replicated across varied geographies," said Viren Shetty.

Source : PEERZADA ABRAR,ET BUREAU 

Top jewellery companies in the world

There are many jewellery retailers in the world, but not all are famous.

Here we take a look at some of the leading jewellery companies in the world.

Click here for Rediff Realtime News!

Image: Here we take a look at some of the leading jewellery companies.

Harry Winston

Harry Winston has many stores all over the US. Their main office is on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

They offer some of the most beautiful and stunning jewellery pieces and diamond work in the industry.

Image: Harry Winston.

Buccellati

Based in Italy, but sold all over the world, Buccellati is a world famous jewellery store. They are known for their engraved pieces of jewellery with brushed gold designs that have gemstone accents and diamonds.

Image: Buccellati.

Van Cleef and Arpels

Van Cleef and Arpels is a world famous company that is known for selling luxurious jewellery items. They even have their very own secretive setting that isn't available anywhere else.

Image: Van Cleef and Arpels.

Graff

Based in London, Graff is a top quality jewellery store. They only carry the rarest and high quality diamonds and many of the pieces they sell are unique and very creative.

Image: Graff.

Tiffany and Co

Tiffany and Co, sometimes called just Tiffany's is one of the most popular jewellery stores in the entire world. Women are ecstatic when they see the Tiffany's bag or box and know they're getting high quality with any piece of jewellery purchased from the Tiffany's store.

Image: Tiffany and Co.

Piaget

If you are looking for the best store to purchase diamond watches and other specialty jewellery items, Piaget is the perfect choice.

Model Jessica Alba is helping them with their newest ad campaign to sell their jewellery in the US and Europe.

Image: Piaget.

Chopard

There are 100 Chopard stores around the world and they target the stars of Hollywood. They have some of the most unique and popular designs around the world in watches and other jewellery items.

Image: Chopard.

Bulgari

An Italian jewelry brand that is famous for Greek and Roman art inspired jewellery like gold necklaces and bracelets with large gems have been around since 1884.

Bulgari creates a new line of collections every single year and offers some of the most relevant and elegant jewellery designs out there.

The trademark is usually written "BVLGARI" in the classical Latin alphabet (where V = English U).

Image: Bulgari.

More

Mikimoto

Famous mostly for their exquisite pearl collection, Mikimoto has some of the most beautiful and high quality pearls in the world.

Image: Mikimoto.

Source : http://www.rediff.com

6 Most Expensive Houses in India

6 Most Expensive Houses in India

This is the next in my “top most” series. We know that some of the most expensive cities are Zurich, New York, Tokyo and few others. Naturally, we expect that the most expensive houses belong to some of these cities. But, have you ever heard about some of the most expensive residences come from countries like India? Probably very few may have heard of such mansions belonging to the ultra-rich tycoons. Here is a list of 6 such most expensive houses in India.

1) Antilia

When Mr. Mukesh Ambani, the richest Indian built his 27-story mansion in Mumbai, it made huge waves in the media, probably all over the world. This $2 billion mansion took seven years for construction. Call it a huge waste of tax payer’s money or a show of wealth and power, Mr. Ambani hasn’t hesitated in building one of the most lavish residences you can find in India and the world. Rated as one of the most expensive houses in India, it includes three helipads, swimming pool, a yoga studio mini-heater and a health club.

2) Mannat

The king of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan definitely knows how to live life king size. His king size house Mannat is situated in Bandra, Mumbai, and easily costs anywhere between Rs. 70 – 100 crore in today’s market value. The mansion definitely reflects his power, stature and enigma. This mansion rivals the grandeur of the mansion owned by Amitabh Bachchan, another Bollywood biggie in its value.

3) JK House

If you thought Mr. Mukesh Ambani defined the way a mansion is built in India, Mr. Gautam Singhania, member of the billionaire family that owns the Raymond brand, took it a notch higher. The JK house seems to tower over Mr. Ambani’s Antilia. Known to have about 30 stories, this mansion is located in Breach Candy, Mumbai. The mansion offers a spectacular view of the sea. It includes features such as a gym with spa, swimming pool, helipad and six levels of car parking.

4) Ratan Tata's Mansion

Another billionaire who owns a sea-facing house in Mumbai is Mr. Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group. Though his mansion hasn’t grown upwards, the three storied building is interestingly separated by seven levels. Each story of the elegant mansion has two levels. The house has all the amenities a billionaire’s house would typically have viz., a sun deck, a huge parking space for at least 10-12 cars, gym and a lounge, and a swimming pool. Mr. Tata’s residence also has an infinity pool at the top. The house is situated in Colaba, Mumbai.

5) Anil Ambani's Mansion

When the elder brother has built probably the most expensive house in India, how can the younger brother fall behind? The business rivalry between the Ambani brothers just became a bit personal with Anil Ambani’s mansion coming up. Touted as one of the most expensive mansions in India, Anil’s residence is still under construction and is estimated to cost approximately Rs. 5,000 crore (you may have a heart attack if you want to convert that into US dollars). The mansion is being constructed in Pali Hill area of Mumbai.

6) White House in the Sky

The king of good times, Mr. Vijay Mallya may be seeing setbacks in his Kingfisher airlines. However, this doesn’t seem to be stopping him from constructing a lavish mansion in Bangalore. This mansion is definitely a neighbor’s envy and an owner’s pride. The mansion presently under construction in UB City, Bangalore is extra-ordinary. It spans over an acre of land and has a wine cellar, salon, gym, an indoor heated pool and an outdoor infinity pool among other features. Now, you don’t call him the king of good times for nothing.

Do you know any other houses or mansions that can be included in some of the most expensive houses in India? Do let me know about them.

Source : http://karthikkash.hubpages.com

Biggest coffee producers and drinkers in the world

Coffee beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa.

Green (unroasted) coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Coffee can have a stimulating effect on humans due to its caffeine content. It is one of the most-consumed beverages in the world.

Let's have a look at the biggest coffee producers and drinkers in the world.

NOTE: One bag weighs 60 kilogrammes.

Image: A combination photo shows cups of latte with patterns made of milk and espresso that were entered in the Coffee Fest in New York.

Photographs: Carlo Allegri/Reuters 

Brazil

Production: 54,500 coffee bags

Global rank: 1

Image: A rainbow forms after a cloudburst over Brazilian Congress in capital Brasilia.

Photographs: Jamil Bittar/Reuters

Vietnam

Production: 18,725 coffee bags

Global rank: 2

Image: Stone statues of Buddhist arhats on a truck in Vietnam

Photographs: Nguyen Huy Kham/Reuters

Colombia

Production: 9,500 coffee bags

Global rank: 3

Image: General view of illuminated Christmas decorations at Monserrate church in Bogota.

Photographs: John Vizcaino/Reuters

Indonesia

Production: 9,325 coffee bags

Global rank: 4

Image: An Indonesian zoo worker feeds three hippos at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta.

Photographs: Enny Nuraheni/Reuters

India

Production: 5,100 coffee bags

Global rank: 5

Image: Guards stand in Mughal gardens surrounding Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Photographs: Eric Feferberg/Pool/Reuters

Ethiopia

Production: 4,400 coffee bags

Global rank: 6

Image: Traffic flows down a main street in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

Photographs: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters

Honduras

Production: 4,000 coffee bags

Global rank: 7

Image: A view of Cayo Bolanos, one of many Garifuna-inhabited islands on the northern coast of Honduras.

Photographs: Tomas Bravo/Reuters

Peru

Production: 4,000 coffee bags

Global rank: 8

Image: Aerial view of Peru's capital Lima.

Photographs: Mariana Bazo/Reuters

Guatemala

Production: 3,910 coffee bags

Global rank: 9

Image: Children play near a fountain at the Parque Central in Guatemala City.

Photographs: Daniel LeClair/Reuters

Mexico

Production: 3,700 coffee bags

Global rank: 10

Image: Hot air balloons float next to the Sun pyramids of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City.

Photographs: Henry Romero/Reuters

World's Biggest Consumers of Coffee

Luxembourg

Coffee consumption: 25.55kg per capita

Global rank: 1

Image: A view of the city of Luxembourg.

Photographs: Francois Lenoir/Reuters

Finland

Coffee consumption: 12.62kg per capita

Global rank: 2

Image: Tourists take part in the reindeer safari at Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi, northern Finland.

Photographs: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

Switzerland

Coffee consumption: 9.15kg per capita

Global rank: 3

Image: A view of the Wollerau village on the edge of Lake Zurich in the canton of Schwyz.

Photographs: Christian Hartmann/Reuters 

Norway

Coffee consumption: 8.99kg per capita

Global rank: 4

Image: People walk past the Grand Hotel in Oslo.

Photographs: Kyrre Lien/Scanpix/Reuters

Sweden

Coffee consumption: 8.28kg per capita

Global rank: 5

Image: Pedestrians walk down the main shopping street in Stockholm's Gamla Stan or Old Town district.

Photographs: Bob Strong/Reuters

Italy

Coffee consumption: 5.98kg per capita

Global rank: 6

Image: People stroll in downtown Florence.

Photographs: Giampiero Sposito/Reuters

Canada

Coffee consumption: 5.80kg per capita

Global rank: 7

Image: People play a game of pickup soccer in downtown Toronto.

Photographs: Mark Blinch/Reuters

The United States

Coffee consumption: 4.17kg per capita

Global rank: 8

Image: The Empire State Building stands tall on the skyline of midtown Manhattan in New York.

Photographs: Gary Hershorn/Reuters

Romania

Coffee consumption: 3.79kg per capita

Global rank: 9

Image: Tourists have dinner inside the Balea Lac Hotel of Ice in the Fagaras mountains, 300km northwest of Bucharest.

Photographs: Radu Sigheti/Reuters

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Japan

Coffee consumption: 3.33kg per capita

Global rank: 10

Image: A visitor is kissed by Disney character Mickey Mouse at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, east of Tokyo.
Photographs: Issei Kato/Reuters

Source : www.rediff.com