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NEW DELHI: In the past more than two decades he let his bat do all the talking. Today, as the world speculates the retirement of perhaps cricket’s greatest batsman, Sachin Tendulkar is presenting a new image of himself that’s built outside cricket field.

Call it after-cricket brand Sachin: he has agreed to become a Parliamentarian and is reportedly playing a cameo in Bollywood flick Ferrari Ki Sawari.

So will brand Sachin outlive cricketer Sachin? Experts say it will, although the new roles bring new responsibilities and challenges.

“He is a highly desired role model for brands-a non-controversial achiever and that image will go beyond his playing years,” says ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar, who has worked with the cricketer on several advertisements.

Sachin Tendulkar, who came into the Indian team as a 16-year-old prodigy in 1989 just before India started the reforms process in 1991, has broken almost every batting record over the past 23 years in a controversy-free career marked by impeccable record on and off the field. And he has been part of many successful campaigns for several national and multinational brands.

Now, he is 39 and there is not much left for him to achieve in a cricket field after having won the World Cup last year and scored his hundredth international century this year. While he is not yet talking about retirement, everybody else is. And his recent moves, particularly that of becoming a Rajya Sabha member, are seen as his retirement plans.

“I believe there is a new brand that Sachin sees for himself after 40, but I don’t see Sachin the cricketer in his new brand,” says Madhukar Kamath, group CEO and managing director at Mudra Group.

EXPANDING BOUNDARIES

While Sachin’s Rajya Sabha nomination might have political undertones with the Congress allegedly trying to capitalise on his brand equity and diffusing the Bharat Ratna issue, the cricketer is clearly exploring his personal boundaries. This is true even with the movie role that he has reportedly accepted.

Historian Ramachandra Guha says that the change is more about Sachin’s public figure than an advertiser’s brand. “Advertisers will eventually find younger icons, but he will have to find a new role as a public figure,” Guha says.

He feels that Sachin must attend Parliament as regularly as possible despite his busy schedule. “He must learn and use this platform to talk about issues,” says Guha.

One cricketer who has successfully built a new public image after retirement is world cup-winning Pakistan captain Imran Khan who has launched his own political party and is seen as the frontrunner to win the next general elections in Pakistan.

THE CHOSEN ONE

Sachin came into the scene just at the right time. His rise to being cricket’s biggest star coincided with the opening up of the Indian economy in the early 1990s, entry of international brands into the country and spread of television viewership with the arrival of cable television and launch of private channels. “He is God’s chosen one,” Hiren Pandit, national director-sports at media agency MindShare, says. “But he still had to build on it. Over the years, he has delivered and capitalised on it.”

Sachin became the first millionaire Indian sportsperson in 1995 when he signed a 30-crore contract with sports management firm WorldTel for five years. When the contract was renewed in 2001, it was worth 100 crore for the next five years.

MATURING BRAND

As a brand ambassador, Sachin has matured over the years, from playing a young icon in Pepsi’s Dil Mange More commercial in 1990s to do the mature role of an icon in recent Aviva advertisements.

And he’s still popular among marketers, endorsing 17 brands including Coca-Cola, Toshiba, Adidas, Sunfeast and Boost.

Abraham Koshy, professor of marketing at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, says that brand Sachin needs to create a new image to stay relevant. “If he continues to press only on his excellence in sports, the brand will become irrelevant for the consumers,” says Koshy.

“The natural progression of a brand is to move from one-dimensional to multi-dimensional that represents more than one kind of value and achievement,” Koshy says.

So, as he sets his hair straight and takes up social and filmy roles, the country is getting the first glimpses of a post-retirement brand Sachin.

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NEW DELHI: In the past more than two decades he let his bat do all the talking. Today, as the world speculates the retirement of perhaps cricket’s greatest batsman, Sachin Tendulkar is presenting a new image of himself that’s built outside cricket field.

Call it after-cricket brand Sachin: he has agreed to become a Parliamentarian and is reportedly playing a cameo in Bollywood flick Ferrari Ki Sawari.

So will brand Sachin outlive cricketer Sachin? Experts say it will, although the new roles bring new responsibilities and challenges.

“He is a highly desired role model for brands-a non-controversial achiever and that image will go beyond his playing years,” says ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar, who has worked with the cricketer on several advertisements.

Sachin Tendulkar, who came into the Indian team as a 16-year-old prodigy in 1989 just before India started the reforms process in 1991, has broken almost every batting record over the past 23 years in a controversy-free career marked by impeccable record on and off the field. And he has been part of many successful campaigns for several national and multinational brands.

Now, he is 39 and there is not much left for him to achieve in a cricket field after having won the World Cup last year and scored his hundredth international century this year. While he is not yet talking about retirement, everybody else is. And his recent moves, particularly that of becoming a Rajya Sabha member, are seen as his retirement plans.

“I believe there is a new brand that Sachin sees for himself after 40, but I don’t see Sachin the cricketer in his new brand,” says Madhukar Kamath, group CEO and managing director at Mudra Group.

EXPANDING BOUNDARIES

While Sachin’s Rajya Sabha nomination might have political undertones with the Congress allegedly trying to capitalise on his brand equity and diffusing the Bharat Ratna issue, the cricketer is clearly exploring his personal boundaries. This is true even with the movie role that he has reportedly accepted.

Historian Ramachandra Guha says that the change is more about Sachin’s public figure than an advertiser’s brand. “Advertisers will eventually find younger icons, but he will have to find a new role as a public figure,” Guha says.

He feels that Sachin must attend Parliament as regularly as possible despite his busy schedule. “He must learn and use this platform to talk about issues,” says Guha.

One cricketer who has successfully built a new public image after retirement is world cup-winning Pakistan captain Imran Khan who has launched his own political party and is seen as the frontrunner to win the next general elections in Pakistan.

THE CHOSEN ONE

Sachin came into the scene just at the right time. His rise to being cricket’s biggest star coincided with the opening up of the Indian economy in the early 1990s, entry of international brands into the country and spread of television viewership with the arrival of cable television and launch of private channels. “He is God’s chosen one,” Hiren Pandit, national director-sports at media agency MindShare, says. “But he still had to build on it. Over the years, he has delivered and capitalised on it.”

Sachin became the first millionaire Indian sportsperson in 1995 when he signed a 30-crore contract with sports management firm WorldTel for five years. When the contract was renewed in 2001, it was worth 100 crore for the next five years.

MATURING BRAND

As a brand ambassador, Sachin has matured over the years, from playing a young icon in Pepsi’s Dil Mange More commercial in 1990s to do the mature role of an icon in recent Aviva advertisements.

And he’s still popular among marketers, endorsing 17 brands including Coca-Cola, Toshiba, Adidas, Sunfeast and Boost.

Abraham Koshy, professor of marketing at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, says that brand Sachin needs to create a new image to stay relevant. “If he continues to press only on his excellence in sports, the brand will become irrelevant for the consumers,” says Koshy.

“The natural progression of a brand is to move from one-dimensional to multi-dimensional that represents more than one kind of value and achievement,” Koshy says.

So, as he sets his hair straight and takes up social and filmy roles, the country is getting the first glimpses of a post-retirement brand Sachin.

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NEW DELHI: While India faces an acute shortage of trained medical manpower, as many as 1,333 doctors migrated to foreign shores over the last one year.

During the same period, the previous year – from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011 – 1,157 doctors had migrated in search of employment, and between 2009 and 2010, 1,458 doctors went abroad.

This latest revelation by Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday comes just days after he had said that doctors going to the US for higher medical studies will now have to sign a bond with the ministry before leaving and honour the document by returning home after finishing the study period.

“Now, if a student does not come back from the US, he won’t be allowed to practice there,” Azad had said.

The US has insisted on a government No objection Certificate (NoC) from this academic session from every student enrolling with an American institute.

Azad said, “These are all doctors who asked the Medical Council of India (MCI) to issue them Good Standing Certificates (GSC) – a mandatory requirement for doctors going to work in hospitals abroad. GSCs give us a rough estimate of the doctors migrating to other countries. However, it does not reflect the absolute number. No centralized data is maintained for doctors and nurses migrating to other countries.”

Azad said over 3,000 doctors went abroad for studies and did not return in the last three years.

He added on Monday, “Those who apply to go to the US for studies from 2012 will have to give us a bond saying they would come back after finishing the studies. If they don’t fulfill the bond obligation, we can write to the US to deny the student permission to practice.”

The minister’s proposal, however, has found resistance from former members of the governing body of MCI.

“The bond can’t work till the government can guarantee the students a good job worth their skills, once they return to India,” said a former member of the MCI’s governing body.

Almost 70% of health workers in India are presently employed in the private sector.

Almost 18% of primary health centres in the public sector are without a doctor, 38% are without a laboratory technician and 16% are without a pharmacist. Immigration is a big threat to India.

Indian doctors emigrating to the West constitute the largest number of foreign trained physicians in the USA (4·9%) and the UK (10.9%), the second largest in Australia (4%) and third largest in Canada (2.1%).

About 100,000 Indian doctors work in the US and the UK ministry officials say at the time of Independence, India had 19 medical schools, from which 1,200 doctors graduated every year.

Now, India has 270 medical schools, from which 28,158 doctors graduate annually.

The southwestern states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu (which together account for 31% of the country’s population) account for 58% of all medical colleges (public and private) in India.

According to the ministry, doctors going abroad to work doesn’t augur well for the country. The nation has just one doctor for every 1,700 people. In comparison, the doctor-population ratio globally is 1.5:1,000.

Somalia has one doctor for 10,000 population. China’s doctor population ratio stands at 1:1063, Korea (1:951), Brazil (1:844), Singapore (1:714), Japan (1:606), Thailand (1:500), the UK (1:469), the US (1:350) and Germany 1:296.

MCI intends to reduce the gap to one doctor for 1,000 population by 2031.

According to the Planning Commission, India is short of six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and two lakh dental surgeons. It estimates that Indian doctors who have migrated to developed countries form nearly 5% of their medical workforce. Almost 60,000 Indian physicians are estimated to be working in countries like the US, the UK, Canada and Australia alone.

A recent paper in the Lancet had said India had eight healthcare workers, 3.8 allopathic doctors and 2.4 nurses per 10,000 population. When compared to other countries, this is about half the WHO benchmark of 25.4 workers per 10,000 people.

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KATHMANDU: Eleven Indian pilgrims were among 15 people killed when a private plane crashed in Nepal today after hitting a hill top while trying to land at high-altitude Jomsom airport.

“Eleven Indian nationals, two Danish nationals and two Nepalese crew member were killed in the crash,” the official said, adding rescuers have so far recovered nine bodies from the wreckage. Six people on board, including a crew member and five Indians, have been rescued alive from the crash site, he said.

The Agni Air plane was about to land at Jomsom airport when it dropped from air. “The accident happened less than one mile from the airport,” Purusottam Shakya of the air traffic control said.

Jomsom is the gateway to Muktinath temple, a popular pilgrimage for Nepali and Indians. The temple is about six hours walk from Jomsom.

The high-altitude Jomsom airport, about 200 km northwest of the capital, is a gateway to a popular tourism and trekking destination situated more than 2,600 m above sea level.

According to the press release issued by the Indian embassy in Nepal stated that of the 18 passengers, 16 were Indians. Six people were rescued alive from
the crash out of which 3 were Indian nationals. These include Tirumala Kidambi Sreekanth, Tirumala Kidambi Sreevardhini and Tirumala Kidambi Sreepada, who are currently undergoing treatment at
Manipal Hospital, Pokhara. The others 13 Indians are feared dead.

Meanwhile, a Nepal Army chopper has left for Jomsom to bring the mortal remains of the deceased to Kathmandu.

The Indian embassy is in close contact with the Nepalese authorities and are helping in the search and relief operation.

The Indian embassy has set up a control room for assistance. The numbers are 00-977-1-4423702 00-977-1-4410900, extn.4109, 00-977-1-4411699, extn. 4109.

(Inputs from PTI)

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BANGALORE: The political crisis in the ruling BJP in Karnataka today loomed large with rebel leader and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa deciding to take a final call on his future political course by this evening.

“I will consult MPs, MLAs and my supporters today and announce my decision by 4 PM”, Yeddyurappa, who has been fuming at BJP central leadership for “ignoring” him, particularly after the Supreme Court order for a CBI probe into illegal mining during his tenure as chief minister, told reporters.

Yeddyurappa, who visited Siddganga mut pontiff Shivakumara Swamiji of the Lingayat community to which he belongs, attacked BJP general secretary H N Anantkumar, State unit chief K S Eshwarappa, chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda and RSS leader Satish.

He accused Anantkumar of “feeding malicious information” about him to BJP leader L K Advani.

“Anantkumar made efforts to topple me from the chief ministership at least thrice earlier with the help of mine owners”, Yeddyurappa alleged.

In a damage-control bid, Eshwarappa today ruled out accepting resignations of more than half a dozen MLAs and dropping ministers loyal to Yeddyurappa.

“There is truth in the fact that about more than half a dozen MLAs and ministers have tendered resignation to Yeddyurappa. However, the party will neither accept their resignations nor drop any ministers,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, MLAs and Ministers loyal to Yeddyurappa met at a breakfast meeting at his Race Course residence where the consultation process has begun.

Sources close to Yeddyurappa claim that he has been toying with the idea of quitting BJP, a development that would threaten the survival of the four-year-old BJP government, the first ever in the South.

Eight ministers loyal to Yeddyurappa have already handed over their resignation letters to their leader.

In another development, the BJP central leadership has reportedly rejected Yeddyurappa’s demand for change in the leadership of Sadananda Gowda. Power minister Shobha Karandlaje, who was sent as Yeddyurappa’s emissary to hold talks with BJP central Leadership is, returning empty handed.

As a last effort to save the situation, Eswarappa said the entire BJP was with Yeddyurappa. Eswarappa’s parleys with Yeddyurappa yesterday have failed to end the crisis.

In the 225-member assembly, BJP has a strength of 120. Yeddyurappa claims to have the support of at least nine ministers and 45 MLAs.

Eshwarappa also said he has not received the resignation letters either from the ministers or the MLAs. “I have been in touch with these MLAs and ministers and I am telling confidently as the state party chief that they will not quit,” he said.

On Yeddyurappa praising Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her party for being supportive of leaders facing trouble “unlike” his own party, Eshwarappa said BJP leadership had never left any of their leaders including L K Advani, Narendra Modi, Madan Lal Khurana and Uma Bharti in the lurch during crisis.

The BJP leadership had always stood behind Yeddyurappa and expressed hope that he would come out clean in the illegal mining case, Eshwarappa said.

He also said he failed to understand the reason for Yeddyurappa to praise Sonia Gandhi and her party. “I would like to make it clear that all BJP leaders, including central leaders are with Yeddyurappa,” Eshwarappa said.

“I think Yeddyurappa is giving such statements (praising Sonia Gandhi) out of pain. There is no question of Yeddyurappa quitting the party,” he said.

Eswarappa also believed the crisis would be resolved soon.

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BANGALORE: The political crisis in the ruling BJP in Karnataka today loomed large with rebel leader and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa deciding to take a final call on his future political course by this evening.

“I will consult MPs, MLAs and my supporters today and announce my decision by 4 PM”, Yeddyurappa, who has been fuming at BJP central leadership for “ignoring” him, particularly after the Supreme Court order for a CBI probe into illegal mining during his tenure as chief minister, told reporters.

Yeddyurappa, who visited Siddganga mut pontiff Shivakumara Swamiji of the Lingayat community to which he belongs, attacked BJP general secretary H N Anantkumar, State unit chief K S Eshwarappa, chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda and RSS leader Satish.

He accused Anantkumar of “feeding malicious information” about him to BJP leader L K Advani.

“Anantkumar made efforts to topple me from the chief ministership at least thrice earlier with the help of mine owners”, Yeddyurappa alleged.

In a damage-control bid, Eshwarappa today ruled out accepting resignations of more than half a dozen MLAs and dropping ministers loyal to Yeddyurappa.

“There is truth in the fact that about more than half a dozen MLAs and ministers have tendered resignation to Yeddyurappa. However, the party will neither accept their resignations nor drop any ministers,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, MLAs and Ministers loyal to Yeddyurappa met at a breakfast meeting at his Race Course residence where the consultation process has begun.

Sources close to Yeddyurappa claim that he has been toying with the idea of quitting BJP, a development that would threaten the survival of the four-year-old BJP government, the first ever in the South.

Eight ministers loyal to Yeddyurappa have already handed over their resignation letters to their leader.

In another development, the BJP central leadership has reportedly rejected Yeddyurappa’s demand for change in the leadership of Sadananda Gowda. Power minister Shobha Karandlaje, who was sent as Yeddyurappa’s emissary to hold talks with BJP central Leadership is, returning empty handed.

As a last effort to save the situation, Eswarappa said the entire BJP was with Yeddyurappa. Eswarappa’s parleys with Yeddyurappa yesterday have failed to end the crisis.

In the 225-member assembly, BJP has a strength of 120. Yeddyurappa claims to have the support of at least nine ministers and 45 MLAs.

Eshwarappa also said he has not received the resignation letters either from the ministers or the MLAs. “I have been in touch with these MLAs and ministers and I am telling confidently as the state party chief that they will not quit,” he said.

On Yeddyurappa praising Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her party for being supportive of leaders facing trouble “unlike” his own party, Eshwarappa said BJP leadership had never left any of their leaders including L K Advani, Narendra Modi, Madan Lal Khurana and Uma Bharti in the lurch during crisis.

The BJP leadership had always stood behind Yeddyurappa and expressed hope that he would come out clean in the illegal mining case, Eshwarappa said.

He also said he failed to understand the reason for Yeddyurappa to praise Sonia Gandhi and her party. “I would like to make it clear that all BJP leaders, including central leaders are with Yeddyurappa,” Eshwarappa said.

“I think Yeddyurappa is giving such statements (praising Sonia Gandhi) out of pain. There is no question of Yeddyurappa quitting the party,” he said.

Eswarappa also believed the crisis would be resolved soon.

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AHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi may find the going tough for the upcoming assembly elections as his predecessor and and BJP warhorse, Keshubhai Patel, is mobilising politically influential Patel community which can tilt the power balance in the state.

The 82-year-old Modi-baiter, who remained in political wilderness for over four years, has not only embarked on to attending public meetings and functions, mainly organised by his community, but also been openly criticising Modi, while pitching for the change of current government.

From the beginning of this year, the BJP stalwart, who was unceremoniously removed from the chief minister’s chair and replaced by Modi in 2001, has attended more than four major public gatherings and openly voiced his thoughts against the chief minister.

Patels, who constitute about 18 per cent of state population, shifted their loyalty to BJP in Gujarat after former Congress chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki worked out a KHAM (Kshatriyas, Harijans, Adivasi (tribals) and Muslims) formula to politically alienate the powerful community.

Patels were the backbone of BJP’s successive victories in the state elections.

In the run-up to 2007 elections Keshubhai Patel had initially taken a tough stand against Modi, however, he relented only after intervention and promises from party’s top leadership, sources close to Patel said.

“However, those promises have not been kept either by the top leadership or by Modi so he (Patel) was lying low so far,” they said.

“However, this time he is determined to take the fight to its logical conclusion,” they added.

Among other promises, Patel was purportedly assured of giving ticket to his son in 2007 assembly polls.

The determination to put Modi on mat is palpable in Patel as apart from attending public meetings, the former chief minister has also been networking with leaders like Gordhan Zadafia, who has openly revolted against Modi and formed his own outfit, Maha Gujarat Janta Party (MJP).

In absence of strong and credible opposition in Gujarat, Patel’s campaign against Modi is emerging a major factor in the run-up to the elections due in December this year.

In a recent public meeting Patel said that his community was “living in fear under the present regime of Modi”.

Blurting out a popular catch-line of an advertisement, Patel said that “Dar ke agey jeet hai (victory is yours if you overcome fear); we require to hold our nerves”.

Underlining the sentiment, Zadafia, who fell out with Modi, said, “Keshubhai has nothing personal to gain that is why he is taking on the present regime. He is coming out as a statesman to help people who are finding themselves in trouble”.

The founder president of Maha Gujarat Janta Party further said that “Keshubhai’s word matters not only in his community but among many others as he has spent 60 years in public life of Gujarat. He is still active and meeting people by touring all over the state”.

State BJP president R C Faldu refused to comment on the Keshubhai Patel ‘factor’ and the consequences, if any, on Modi’s future prospects.

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