Here's a look at Dalal Street's not-so famous top investors

Here's a look at Dalal Street's not-so famous top investors 
They are some of the biggest investors in the stock market, with an uncanny ability to pick the right scrips. Their preferences are cues for not just ordinary investors but also prominent fund houses. Shailesh Menon profiles a bunch of investors who despite the tremendous influence they wield on the market are not thrilled with the limelight.

Bull markets create heroes and zeroes: Ashish Kacholia

Age: Mid-40s

Comfort zone: Mid- & small-cap stocks

Winning stocks: Pokarna Granites, Vadilal, Axiscades Engineering, Acrysil, and Shaily Engineering Plastics

When Ashish bhaiya (as children call him) visited the Samaritan Mission School at Tikiapara near Howrah in West Bengal 13 years ago, it was a 350 sq ft room with three windows and some 25 students — mostly children of rickshaw-pullers, housemaids and drug addicts.

"Bhaiya's eyes welled up when he saw our kids sitting on the damp cemented floor," recalls Mamoon Akhtar of Samaritan Help Mission, which runs the school. While departing, Ashish bhaiya handed the first of his numerous cheques favouring the Samaritan Mission. 

Today, the school imparts digitised education to over 3,000 students, boasts a playground and a vocational training lab, all thanks to the generosity of Ashish bhaiya and his rich friends from Mumbai. Little do these kids know that their bhaiya is one of the most influential investors on Dalal Street. 

Every morning before the market opens, a raft of WhatsApp stock tips/messages that float around lists trades done by Kacholia the previous day. Stock market blogs typically mention Kacholia's portfolio every quarter. Dealers and stock-pitchers sell investment ideas to potential investors saying, "Kacholia ne entry maara hai." His fan following is such that stock market enthusiasts have started comparing Kacholia to the likes of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and RK Damani, the high-profile investors of Dalal Street. 

Kacholia started his career with Prime Securities and later moved to the Edelweiss' equity research desk. After learning the ropes, he started his own broking outfit — Lucky Securities. He accepted mandates from investors, and in a short time, was making money for them. But then if you know how to make money, why would you do it for someone else? From 2003, Kacholia started focusing on building his own portfolio. 

As is his wont, Kacholia did not invest in tried and tested large-cap stocks. He pushed himself to find new investment ideas in the mid- and smallcap space. This strategy paid off as companies such as Pokarna Granites, Vadilal, Camlin, Axiscades Engineering, Acrysil, Lokesh Machines, Zen Technologies, Shaily Engineering Plastics and Ashiana Housing turned multi-baggers (record gainers in stock market parlance) in his portfolio. Kacholia holds investments of nearly Rs 350 crore in companies where he has more than 1 per cent shareholding. "Ashish does a lot of research before investing. He's a risk-taker; he buys shares in chunks if he's convinced. He meets the management if his investment is large," says a broker who executes trades for him. 

Kacholia believes in testing the strength of his portfolio. So if the overall market momentum is weak, he dumps a portion of his holding to check for price resistance patterns. If the stock manages ride out even during an "engineered selloff", he increases his holding. Kacholia does not hold more than 25-30 stocks in his portfolio at any given time. His price target is usually 1.5-2 times the buying price. That said, if company fundamentals turn negative mid-way to target, he dumps the stock dispassionately. 

Kacholia leads a simple lifestyle. He also stays away from the spotlight. "I am a private person. Bull markets create heroes and bear markets create zeroes. So, I'd rather stay anonymous," was Kacholia's response to ET's request for a meeting

Mukul Agrawal: Aggressive but does not put principal at risk

Age: Mid-40s 

Comfort zon​e: Aggressive trading, long-term investments, large bets

Winning stocks: Bharat Bijlee, Hindustan Dorr-Oliver, Honda Siel Power

Mukul Agrawal is the newest kid to break into the rich club on Dalal Street. 

"Mukul smells and breathes money," says a long-time acquaintance. "He's not scared to take large bets, but he does that only after consulting several other investors and fund managers. He has got a good ring of friends in the market," he says. 

Agrawal's bets are often in the range of Rs 20 crore to Rs 50 crore. He is known to keep two portfolios — one for investments and other for trading. Stocks like Nesco, Unitech and Wockhardt have yielded good returns for Agrawal over the years. Bharat Bijlee, Zen Technologies, Rico Auto Industries, KDDL Ltd, Shalimar Paints and Sunshield Chemicals are said to be his other top picks.

Hailing from the Mumbai suburbs, Agrawal and his brother Mayank started investing in stocks in the late-90s.

As many investors did those days, Mukul Agrawal started trading aggressively on market information and stock tips. When he started making money on his trades, he increased his bets. Eventually, he started following the investment pattern of some of the savviest and most notorious stock traders of those times. 

It is not known if Agrawal had a direct hotline to some of these traders, but their aggressive investment style impressed him at least a little, according to brokers who have known him for several years. 

This is evident from his trades in a leading pharmaceutical company where he entered and exited (the counter) multiple times. 

"Multiple entries and exits are a pure trading strategy and Mukul has perfected it very well. He makes a lot of money like this," says the research head of a broking firm. Apart from gathering market consensus, Agrawal is known to be a stickler for research, especially when he is buying in his core portfolio. "Mukul is aggressive, but he does not put his principal at risk. He meets the management of companies where has long-term investments," said the equity sales head of mid-sized brokerage. 

Apart from equities, Mukul Agrawal is also known to have investment interests in real estate. He is said to have funded several real estate properties in suburban Mumbai, it is learnt.

Agrawal's success in stock markets comes partly from his close circle of friends. He talks to a wide array of investors - right from highly-placed fund managers to long-only investors and market-movers. 

"He's lion-hearted for sure," says a top broker, adding, "He'll take you along if you are his friend."

When stock markets tire him, Agrawal and his friends go on fun trips abroad — to the snow-clad peaks of Switzerland or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. If the chips are down on the bourses, the gang embarks on trips to temples or Gurudwaras. On Makar Sankranti day, they fly kites atop terraces. 

I listen, research and buy stocks in good numbers: Rakesh Kathotia 

Age: 47

Comfort zone: Risky bets, stock views and intel

Winning stocks: Century Plyboards, Escorts, Sical Logistics, Essel Propack, Strides Arcolab, Eros International 

Rakesh Kathotia bought his first shares 30 years ago while pursuing graduation from a college in Kolkata. Little did he know that the 100 shares of Andrew Yule Company he bought — on a tip from a friend — would hook him to the stock market for life. 

Having lived through six rip-roaring bull runs, five depressing bear phases and two big scams, Kathotia has evolved into a wiser and more careful investor. "But I still take a lot of risk. Stock market is the only place where you can take risk; you have to take risk to make money on the bourses," he says. "I listen to a lot people who have a logical approach to investing. If they make sense, I do my own research on the stock; and if I am convinced, I buy the stock in good numbers," Kathotia explains.

Kathotia's moment in the sun came in 2007-08, in the thick of India's biggest bull-run, when he made significant sums of money across trades. Market intermediaries who have long worked with Kathotia describe him as a momentum player. "He rides momentum stocks... he takes a big position, waits for the stock to appreciate and then dumps without any care," says a retired fund manager who has known Kathotia for over two decades. 

Kathotia learnt the tricks of the trade while working with a chartered accountant in Kolkata. He relocated to Mumbai in 1987 and a few years later, started a company that lent working capital to corporates. All this while, he dabbled in stocks making small investments and booking profits regularly. The failed venture forced Kathotia to go back to the stock market. His next big break came during the tech-boom, when he made a lot of profitable investments. "Despite having a good run then, we lost money in some IT counters," Kathotia recollects.

In the lull that followed the tech-bubble burst, Kathotia started a private equity fund, Subhkam Ventures, which cut PIPE (private investment in public equity) deals and provided growth funds to startups. The PE fund has exited investments in over 15 companies till date. Kathotia returned to active stock trading at the onset of last bull-run. "We actively participated in the 2006-08 bull-run. Frankly, many of our trade leads were informationbased, but we studied those stocks well before investing." 

Kathotia looks at operating cash flows and free cash flows prior to investing in a company. Most Indian companies do not have free cash flows; in such cases, Kathotia focuses on companies with significant RoEs. He also invests in well-managed companies with low operating cash flows, provided they have robust business prospects. Zee TV, Unitech and DLF are among stocks that have turned in good yields for this investor. "I like finding new companies to invest. I track mid- and small-cap stocks very closely," he says. 

This hobby of investing in lesser known stocks has cost him dearly a few times, especially in falling markets. "Some of my picks during the tech boom touched zero in value. Till that time, I never believed the stock price could ever touch zero," he guffaws

Friends are important in stock markets: Kalpraj Dharamshi 

Age: Late-40s

Comfort zone: Technical and fundamental research, influential friends

Winning stocks: Elecon Engineering, Natco Pharma, Delta Corp, SQS India, E-Serve (later merged with TCS), TVS Motors, Marksans Pharma

The fifth-floor office of Kalpraj Dharamshi in central Mumbai reminds one of the den of Gordon Gekko, the protagonist in the Hollywood movie Wall Street. The room, not large, has soft lighting and is filled with an L-shaped work bureau facing three dealer tables, an array of computer monitors (each displaying charts, excel sheets and portfolio listings), two bronze bull figurines, telephones, piles of neatly arranged folders and an elliptical trainer at the far-end. It is from here Kalpraj Dharamshi punches in his winning trades. 

Kalpraj Dharamshi (KD to his friends) is reclusive unlike his more famous friends Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Ramesh Damani. Dharamshi prefers to be like his mentor Radhakishan Damani - silent in his approach and dead accurate while making investments. 

Dharamshi and his friends were among the first to find value in niche businesses. Stocks like Amara Raja Batteries and Titan have yielded decent portfolio returns for this pack of value-hunters. Dharamshi is also a big investor in Delta Corp, which runs offshore casinos in Goa. 

After much persuasion, Dharamshi met ET in his office a few days ago. His only condition was: "No interview please." "Why should I come out now? I've nothing to tell anyone," he dismissed our pleas for an interview in one brutal stroke. Nevertheless, Dharamshi played a gracious host for the next 90 minutes, discussing stocks, markets, market cycles and strategies. He entered the market in the late 80s as a stock dealer. A few years of internship with leading brokers, some experience calling out trades on the trading ring and friendship pacts with a handful of young promising investors, Dharamshi was ready to start his own broking venture. 

A few years later, Dharamshi shut his broking business and turned a fulltime investor. His first big jolt as an investor came in 2001, when the markets went into a tailspin post the 9/11 attack. Dharamshi, at that time, was betting big on stocks — especially of IT companies. After lying low for a few months, Dharamshi cleaned up his portfolio for a fresh start. 

The cornerstone of Dharamshi's investments is solid research. KD relies a lot on technical research, according to friends. He is also known to meet managements before making large core-portfolio investments. Dharamshi is also fortunate to have well-connected friends like Damani and Jhunjhunwala to guide him through tough times. "Friends are important in stock markets... you need sensible people to correct you when you are reading markets wrong.," Dharamshi is known to have told an old acquaintance. 

Dharamshi hunts for quality companies with good growth prospects. He is not much of a "sector picker" as he believes there could be several wellmanaged companies in sectors facing temporary cyclical headwinds. He does not buy highly-leveraged companies and 'turnaround stories' either. Marksans Pharma, Elecon Engineering, TVS Motors and Natco Pharma have been some of Dharamshi's best investments in recent years. Besides investments in stocks, Dharamshi has a small portfolio of private equity investments, but these have not yielded very well for him, say market insiders. 

Hitesh Ramji Zaveri: Winning with large chunks in penny stocks

Age: Late-50s

Comfort zone: Special situations specialist, small-cap and penny stock focus

Winning stocks: DIC India, IFB, Williamson Magor, AP Paper Mills, Tarai Foods, Uniply Industries 

Barring a few old-timers on Dalal Street, nobody knows Hitesh Ramji Zaveri that well. Zaveri has no clique or friends, a trait he shares with some of the most successful investors. Not many brokers have dealt for him, and barring a few spreadsheet enthusiasts, no one has seen the depth of this portfolio. 

Zaveri holds more than 1 per cent in nearly 60 companies, mostly penny stocks with prices ranging between Rs 5 and Rs 15 a share. Shervani Industrial Syndicate, Mahasagar Travels, STEL Holdings, Shree Steel Wire Ropes, Belapur Industries and Farry Industries are among his top picks. 

"These are mostly kabaadi stocks (scrap quality); don't know why he's holding so many such stocks in his portfolio," says a stock researcher.

"For all you know, Zaveri must have bought these shares at very low prices. Since he holds large chunks, any minute bounce in prices would bring in good gains," adds the researcher. 

Zaveri did not comment for this article.

Zaveri could be a very influential shareholder in several of these companies, according to a Mumbai-based stock broker. This is evident from his predatory dealings in consumer durables company IFB, where Zaveri picked about 14.35 per cent in early-2000. The IFB management had then approached the Company Law Board (CLB) seeking protection against a hostile takeover bid by Zaveri. 

The CLB ruling favoured IFB and forced Zaveri to exit the company, though he made a neat profit. In 2014, Zaveri thwarted DIC India's delisting plans by asking for a better share buyback price. Zaveri holds 2.72 per cent in DIC India.

"He must be a very dominant shareholder in companies where he has chunky holdings. Zaveri seems to have a lot interest in 'special situations' like delisting, where he can force companies to pay better buyback prices," the broker adds. 

A savvy Mumbai-based operator, who says he met Zaveri once socially, recalls: "He seems to be a well-informed investor... His investment style is more penny stock-focussed. He likes small MNC stocks as well."

Source : By Shailesh Menon, ET Bureau; http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

How Baba Ramdev has built a Rs 2,000 crore ayurvedic FMCG empire & plans to take on multinational giants

How Baba Ramdev has built a Rs 2,000 crore ayurvedic FMCG empire & plans to take on multinational giants 

Baba Ramdev

It's high noon. The summer heat is relentless and cruel; the absence of air-conditioners and the dilatory movement of the two ceiling fans make one long for the city life. The small hall with a seating capacity of around 50 is choc a bloc with television cameras; a couple of yoga mats lie on the floor, and around 10 scribes are on alert, waiting for their subject to make an entry. 

We're at the Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar in Uttarakhand, one of the largest yoga institutes in the country. It's also the flagship project of Ramdev, whose name is inevitably prefixed with baba, the honorific term assumed by sanyasis (ascetics). 

He enters the hall with 20-odd disciples clad in a saffronBSE 5.00 % cloth and wooden slippers, takes his position in the centre with the followers sitting behind him in a V-shaped pattern.Seated cross-legged, Ramdev's hands rest firmly on his knees, palms facing upwards.... it's time for Anulom Vilom Pranayama, a breathing exercise. 

Ramdev blocks his right nostril with his thumb and draws in air from the left nostril. The disciples follow suit. After a few seconds he releases the thumb and closes the left nostril with his ring finger. He then breathes out slowly through the right nostril. 

The yoga class lasts for an hour, after which the cameramen pack up, the outdoor broadcasting (OB) vans make their exit from the sprawling campus and, as this writer gets ready for an interview, the yoga guru quickly dons a new avatar: Baron Ramdev. 

"Recently, we launched corn flakes and they're better and cheaper than Kellogg's," claims Ramdev, whose company Patanjali Ayurved Ltd sells everything from groceries and medicines to home and personal care items (Ramdev, though, has no equity in the company, with almost all of the shares owned by his close associate, Acharya Balkrishna). "Cornflakes is one of our top sellers. Very soon we will launch oat cornflakes and healthy noodles." 

Spiritualism and Materialism

According to filings with the registrar of companies (RoC), Patanjali Ayurved clocked Rs 1,200 crore in revenues in fiscal year 2014, and the company claims to have crossed Rs 2,000 crore last year (numbers for fiscal year 2015 weren't available with the RoC).That puts Patanjali in the same league as home & personal care giants like Emami, which has brands like ZanduBSE 0.05 % balm, Boroplus, Navratna oil and Fair and Handsome in its portfolio, and which in fiscal year 2015 had net revenues of Rs 2,217 crore.

Patanjali Ayurved's top line excludes the revenues of herbal medicine retailer Divya Pharmacy, which Ramdev pegs at around Rs 400 crore. The brands Patanjali Ayurved sells via its 15,000 exclusive outlets across the country and some 1 lakh stores that stock its products are evidence enough of Ramdev's obsession with swadeshi. It's also evident in his possessions: a Mahindra Scorpio SUV, a Micromax mobile, and a VideoconBSE -0.36 % television.

To be sure, the holy pilgrim town of Haridwar is witnessing a seamless confluence of spiritualism and materialism by playing host to the ambitions of Ramdev of building a huge FMCG empire on the swadeshi plank. But for the man known more as a baba, acknowledging the businessman in himself doesn't come easy.

"Hamne ye kaam vyapaar ke liye nahin, upkaar ke liye kiya hai [We haven't done this for business but for welfare]. It's not a business," he insists. "I am not doing this to amass personal wealth. Neither I own a single share of Patanjali Ayurved nor do I take a single penny to promote it." 

"We never had a business plan. We also don't know markets or marketing," says Acharya Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali Ayurved, which began operations two decades ago. "But what we know is serving the people by providing them high-quality products at attractive prices." 

Not having a business plan doesn't mean the duo lack ambition. "In five years, I will take swadeshi products of Patanjali to such great heights that foreign companies will dwarf in front of them," declares Ramdev. That's no empty threat. Patanjali will focus on six big product portfolios to drive its growth: a breakfast range including cornflakes, 'healthy' noodles, ghee, Kesh Kanti (hair care products), Dant Kanti (oral care products), which is already a Rs 250 crore range, and Chaywanprash. The company, which is about to launch oats corn flakes, is betting big on ready-to-eat food products, too. 

"We are giving a tough fight to foreign companies in each and every segment — be it medicines, herbal cosmetics or foods," asserts Ramdev, adding that all the products are 10-40% cheaper than MNC brands in the market. 

For instance, if Kellogg's is selling flakes for Rs 91 and Rs 159 (MRP for 250 gm and 475 gm, respectively), Patanjali flakes are available for Rs 85 for 250 gm and Rs 145 for 500 gm. The aggression on the price front is also visible in categories like detergents (vis a vis Surf) and dish wash bars (vis a vis Vim). 

DDB Mudra Group confirmed the development. "We have just embarked on a relationship with Patanjali," says Madhukar Kamath, group CEO and managing director, DDB Mudra Group, declining to share more details. 

McCann Worldgroup too acknowledged the development, pointing out that one of its group agencies is in the fray. "McCann is not in the reckoning [of bagging the advertising account of Patanjali]. But Patanjali is in talks with one of our sister concerns, TAG," says Prasoon Joshi, chairman, Asia Pacific, and chief executive and chief creative officer (India). He too refused to provide more details.

Bigger & Better

Along with advertising, Ramdev is also keen to professionalise the company by hiring executives from FMCG rivals. 

"Some have joined, and many more will soon," he says, without naming names.

The competitive streak of an entrepreneur is evident in Ramdev when he shares plans of a new category Patanjali will foray into: malted beverage drinks. 

The company is set to launch Power Vita as a direct competitor to brands like Bournvita. According to the company's estimates, the market size of the malted food drinks business in India is Rs 20,000 crore (although the companies currently in the category peg it at just Rs 6,000 crore). "In a few years Power Vita will become bigger than Horlicks, Bournvita and Complan," Ramdev tells this writer in his by-now familiar grandiose style. 

Marketing experts, though, are in no mood to take Ramdev's ambitions with a pinch of Patanjali salt (yes, the company also retails salt). And the timing of the Maggi noodles controversy may just work in favour of Ramdev's FMCG strategy. 

India is today polarised in terms of competition — at one end are Unilever, Nestle and Procter & Gamble, and at the other are the likes of ITC and Emami, says brand strategist Harish Bijoor. 

"Now, Ramdev promises to open up a third frontier," he reckons. Consumers are getting more and more aware and active about what they are putting into their bodies. "If Patanjali can offer valid substitutes on the backbone of ayurved, it may just work," adds Bijoor. 

Santosh Desai, chief executive of Future Brands, agrees that Patanjali has a robust business model of providing a counterpoint to MNC companies. "It's a legitimate route. There are enough people who think there should be a strong counterpoint to MNCs," he says. "Ramdev is in a position to answer the aspirations of these people."

A Household Name 

The brand equity of Patanjali products are built around yoga and the baba who practices and preaches the discipline, explains Ashita Aggarwal Sharma, professor of marketing at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research. Consider the potential captive market Ramdev can address: some 20 crore, or almost a sixth of the Indian population, has attended a class of the Ramdev school of yoga courtesy of some 5 lakh trained yoga teachers working with Patanjali. "Once the consumer trust is obtained [via yoga], reaching them with your products becomes easier," adds Sharma. "Consumers are somewhat unsure of the benefits of the current products in the FMCG space. It's in this gap that Ramdev has placed his Patanjali offerings." 

If Patanjali is able to invest in its products and launch new ones, it's also because yoga brings in some cool cash (see How Yoga Brings in the Money). For instance, corporates have to cough up a cool Rs 11 lakh to become a member of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Ramdev's flagship yoga institute (the institute won't reveal the number of such corporate members; Balkrishna says the numbers are not huge). Other than corporate members, the institute also invites founder members (Rs 5 lakh), patron members (Rs 2.5 lakh), life members (Rs 1 lakh), and so on. 

Piyush Pandey, executive chairman & creative director of Ogilvy South Asia, feels marketers have a lot to learn from Ramdev. "He is an all-rounder who is battling, bowling and fielding at the same time. Baba Ramdev is a great proponent of a direct marketing FMCG comcover pany, and is one step ahead of the likes of the Amways and Avons of the world."

* * * 
On a muggy June morning in Rohini in northwest Delhi, Vijayant Jain, a guru from the Ramdev school of yoga, is getting ready to begin class with 20-odd students.

They start with a somewhat unusual warm-up session — Bollywood music blares inside his 'Fun n Fit" institute, which has huge cutouts of baba Ramdev on its walls. 

The moment the 42-year-old Jain changes the music and plays Yo Yo Honey Singh's 'chaar bottle vodka' remix, his students erupt into a frenzy. The speed of the aerobics increases and the tempo is set. After 40 minutes of vigorous stretching and strength training, the class settles down quickly. The music changes rather dramatically, and chants of 'Om' fill the air, as Jain starts his yoga session. 

"The new generation knows the value of yoga but they need to be introduced to it in a different manner," he says, explaining the need to begin with a session of Bollywood music-fuelled aerobics.

It also helps Patanjali to tap the market that matters most. Sudha Dabas, a 23-year-old student who is in her final year of MA, is a big Ramdev fan as well as of Patanjali's products.

"I use Patanjali's toothpaste and face wash," she says. "I like the quality and the value-for-money equation." 

The youngest student in the class, Shradha Jain, is also a Ramdev follower.

"I like the guava juice," says 10-year-old Jain who has been learning yoga for a year now.

Can Kids be Far Behind? 

Appealing to kids like Jain is an imperative for Patanjali over the longer term, whose products are today popular largely with populations over 35, and even over 45. "Looking at India's demographic divide, 50 per cent is below the age of 25. If the brand has to be relevant over the next couple of generations, it is crucial that Patanjali appeals to more and more young consumers," says Sharma of SP Jain Institute of Management and Research.

Another potential problem is that Patanjali finds buyers because it is synonymous with Ramdev. "This is risky for the business because if the personal brand is tarnished or ceases to exist, the product brand is also affected," contends Sharma. Bijoor, however, reckons that the real hero of Patanjali is not Ramdev but its products and their efficacy. 
Indeed, controversy may well be Ramdev's second name. Let's start with the more serious ones. In November 2013, the Uttarakhand government registered 81 cases against Patanjali Yog Peeth and its sister concerns in Haridwar relating to alleged benami transactions, land grabbing and tax evasions. "Except for two or three cases, most of the 81 registered against Ramdev in 2013 stand," says Harish Rawat, chief minister, Uttarakhand. 
Observers worry that even if a couple of the charges stick, that could mark the beginning of the end of brand Ramdev, and brand Patanjali.

Then, Ramdev's regressive comments on a few fronts may only succeed in alienating a young audience.

A couple of examples:

"Sex education doesn't make sense. Vedic, moral and spiritual education should be emphasised." 

And: "Bring all homosexuals to me and I will cure them. Homosexuality is a wrong sexual practice. It's unnatural, unproductive and inhuman." (See Interview Congress Swaryiya Ho Gayi Hai). More recently, Ramdev was embroiled in another row when Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi alleged that one of the medicines sold by Ramdev's Divya Pharmacy guarantees a male child. 

Ramdev's political leanings today place him on a firmer footing when a BJP-led government is in power, but industry analysts rarely approve of businesses being aligned to any one particular party; politics and parties after all are fickle and fairweather friends. 

Then, there is a huge scepticism — more so in global markets — over herbal products and their contents. "Herbal products in India are not subjected to regulatory tests or approvals. How many herbal and ayurvedic products have been tested in the country?" asks Abraham Koshy, professor of marketing at IIM Ahmedabad. 

Ramdev, for his part, has an arguably convenient explanation to brush aside the controversies and disdain for him in some quarters. "Media talks about my controversies but people see my contribution towards society," he says. "Baba ke peechhe kyon pade hain? [Why are they after me?]. 

Is it because I come from a poor, humble background? Is it because I am an illiterate and my parents are farmers?" he asks.

As the sun begins to set on a Monday evening in Haridwar, Ramdev sits down for another session of yoga. His parting shot: "Some perish in controversy. I flourish in it." 

Source : By Rajiv Singh, ET Bureau; http://economictimes.indiatimes.com