Nilamani Routray passes away
Bhubaneswar: The former Orissa Chief Minister, Nilamani Routray, died at the Shriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack this morning. He was 84. He is survived by his son, Bijayshree Routray, now the Health and Family Welfare Minister of the State.

Routray was ailing for some time and was admitted to the hospital a few weeks ago.

Born on May 24, 1920, Routray was an active student leader and was first elected to the State Assembly in 1948. He was the Chief Minister from 1977 to 1980, and was also a Union Cabinet Minister in the V.P. Singh Government.

He served as the editor of the Oriya daily, Prajatantra.
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Kelkar joins IDFC AMC as non-exec Chairman
New Delhi: Dr. Vijay Kelkar, former Advisor to the Union Finance Minister, has joined the board of IDFC Asset Management Co Ltd as its non-executive Chairman. IDFC AMC is the investment manager of the India Development Fund, the country's largest infrastructure-focused private equity fund.

Dr Kelkar, relinquished charge of his North Block assignment last month.
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Natarajan retires as TMB chief
Madurai: The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd, R. Natarajan, retired on September 30 on completion of a two-year term.

T. Palappan, General Manager (Recovery and Accounts), would be in-charge as Chairman and CEO.

According to a RBI directive, a three-member committee comprising Directors, B. Ramachandra Adiyan, S. Swaminathan and N.S. Srinivasan would oversee the operations and administration of the bank as well as exercise the discretionary powers of the Chairman and CEO.
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Meher Pudumjee takes over as Chairperson of Thermax
Pune: Engineering company Thermax Ltd, which went through a major turnaround exercise over the last couple of years, is gearing up for a transformation phase, which will double its turnover and triple profits by 2008.

Ms Pudumjee, who formally takes over as Chairperson (non-executive) from her mother, Ms Anu Aga said China is the biggest threat and opportunity that India faces at the moment, and the company had already commenced work on addressing the China factor by setting up an office in Shanghai to study the market and explore opportunities

Meanwhile, Ms Aga told reporters she was officially bidding good bye to the corporate world and would spend her time in the social sector where she will now concentrate on human rights, women and children's welfare.

Ms Aga is a member of the Commonwealth Human Rights Committee and is associated with NGOs like Akanksha, which works with underprivileged children and the Women India Trust.
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Whitman named as the 'Most Powerful Businesswoman'
New York, USA: The title of Most Powerful Businesswoman has gone to eBay's Meg Whitman.

The President and CEO of the auction Website surpassed Carly Fiorina, Chairman and CEO of computer equipment-maker Hewlett-Packard Co, who held the title every year since Fortune magazine began its annual list of most powerful women in business in 1998.

Whitman earned Fortune's top spot due to eBay's significant growth over the past year. EBay's earnings last quarter were double Wall Street's expectations, and the company recently acquired Baazee.com, the largest online marketplace in India.

Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard - the 11th-largest US corporation with $73 billion in revenues - struggled over the past year with competition and weak financial results.

Other rankings
Taking the No 3 spot was Avon Products chairwoman and CEO Andrea Jung, while Xerox Chairman and CEO Anne Mulcahy was No 4 and Marjorie Magner, Chairman and CEO of Citigroup's global consumer group placed fifth.

Oprah Winfrey ranked No 6, while Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck, Fidelity Management and Research President Abigail Johnson, ChevronTexaco's Executive Vice President of global downstream, Pat Woertz, and Pfizer Executive Vice President and President of Global Pharmaceuticals, Karen Katen rounded out the rest of the top 10.
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