Biocon boss Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who is also India’s richest woman entrepreneur, was honored as an outstanding Biotech Achiever, at the annual convention of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce in New Jersey. Seema M. Singh, president of the Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce (AICC), attributed the record crowd to the presence of India’s first lady of biotechnology. More than 500 attendees packed the banquet hall of the Royal Albert Palace in Edison, New Jersey, for the awards gala.

A captive audience listened to India’s richest first-generation woman promoter, reportedly having a net worth of $450 million, describe her journey from starting her business from a garage in Bangalore with a capital of Rs 10,000, to becoming the CEO of Biocon, India, valued today at a cool $1.1 billion.

Tata Sons, the promoter firm of the Tata group, has raised the retirement age of its non-executive directors by five years to 75 years. As a result, Ratan Tata can remain non-executive chairman of Tata Sons till 2012.

A new set of guidelines adopted by the company for the composition of its board of directors says, "The company will continue to benefit from the rich experience of those directors who add great value to the strategy and direction of the Tata Group."

The new policy is expected to be implemented across all Tata group companies.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad as rustic, illiterate and a caricature of the bumbling politico? Or Lalu Prasad as the shrewd graduate with a law degree? That makeover is in the offing with the Bihar leader hiring a Delhi-based PR firm for a brand new image.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief is ready for a complete transformation, at least as far as his public image is concerned, and has hired a New Delhi-based firm to accomplish the task for him.

Though nobody is ready to divulge the name of the firm, RJD leaders said he was fed up with his negative image in the media.

The ad firm has been told to highlight Lalu Prasad’s achievements as railway minister and as a leader who has worked for communal harmony and given a voice to the downtrodden, said party sources. The firm has also been directed to project him as a development-oriented man.

Now, does Lalu’s image need a mere makeover for major surgery.

Mercedes-Benz cars have graced Indian roads for decades. Now, its bicycles will be here. As part of the company’s strategy to capitalise on its brand, it has launched the MB range of bicycles across Mumbai and other parts of the country.

"The cycles, imported from Germany, is targeted mostly at Mercedes car buyers," said Alexander Reuss, deputy general manager, after sales marketing, DaimlerChrysler India.

The cycles are made from aluminium brass and operate on 27 gears. While Automatic Bike is priced at Rs 156,746; Mountain Bike and Fitness Bike are priced at Rs 112,655 and Rs 74,958.