Corporate Brand Logo Evolution

Corporate Brand Logo Evolution

1 BMW or Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (Bavarian Motor Works) was originally founded as an aircraft company. The aircrafts manufactured were painted with the colors of the Bavarian flag, which is the color of BMW logo. Another explanation is that when the pilot used to sit in the plane he would see alternating segments of white and blue due to rotation the plane propeller (blue being the sky).

The major business of BMW was to supply planes to the German army during World War I. But after the war they were forced to change their business. It made railway brakes, before making motorized bicycle, motorcycles and cars.

The logo itself hasn’t changed a lot during the years, but now has a more stylish look due to the different gradients. The unchanged logo has made it easier for people to remember and has given the company more recognition.

2. The xerox Company used to be known as the Haloid Company almost 100 years ago. But in 1938, Chester Carlson invented a technique called xerography which we today call the photocopy technique. Unfortunately no one was willing to invest in his invention, and many big giants like IBM, GE, RCA and others decided not to finance this invention.

But Haloid Company decided to go with Chester and made the first photocopying machine named Haloid Xerox 14. As can be seen in their logos, the original Haloid word which was prominent in the company’s logo before 1961 was completely replaced by Xerox due to the immense success of this idea.

They retained almost the same logo from 1961 to 2004. But in 2004 there was a problem with the Xerox books and it tried to reinvent itself with a new logo. People associate the company only with photocopy machines, and that has been a major problem for Xerox.

The company changed its logo in 2008 to get away from this stereotyped image, by changing the font of the word. They also added a ball which has a stylish X instead of their ‘boring’ X in earlier times According to Anne M. Mulcahy, Xerox’s chief, that little piece of art represents the connection to customers, partners, industry and innovation.

3. Today, one of the biggest soft drinks company, was first started by Caleb Bradham in 1890’s. Initially named as Brad’s drink the name was quickly changed to Pepsi-Cola, which is visible in the first 1898 logo. Finally in 1903, the name was trademarked and hasn’t been changed till date.

In the early years, Brad made custom logos for the brand as it became more famous. In 1933, the company was bought by Loft, Inc. The company changed the bottle size from 6 to 12 oz. and came up with the ‘Refreshing and Healthful’ logo.

However, the major breakthrough in the Pepsi logo design came in 1940’s. Walter Mack, the CEO of Pepsi came up with the idea of a new bottle design, with a crown having the Pepsi logo. The ‘Pepsi Globe’ emerged when USA was in WWII, and to support the country’s war efforts, Pepsi had a blue, red and white logo.

This logo became hugely popular, and went on to be the identifier for the company. As a result, in 1950 and 1962, this bottle cap with the swirling blue and red became prominent in the company logo. During the 1960’s when it became even more popular, the script was changed from the curly red, and the main attraction was on the bottle cap in the logo.

We see the first appearance of the Pepsi Globe instead of the bottle cap in 1973. The typeface was made smaller so as to fit in the globe. The Pepsi Globe was “boxed in”, with a red bar coming in from the left and a light-blue bar coming in from the right.

In 1991, the typeface was moved from inside the globe. The red bar was lengthened and the typeface came on the top of the globe. In 1998, the white background in the logo was replaced by the blue color, which also resulted in dropping the red horizontal band. The globe now had 3D graphic and larger than earlier versions. It might be that since, Pepsi and the globe touch each other for the first time in the logo, the name ‘the Pepsi Globe’ was given to the logo.

After 1998, it seems that Pepsi had decided to give the globe more prominence than the script itself. So, the globe came on top of the script in 2003, and in their current logo they have done away with the script altogether.

4.It is one of the biggest consumer electronics and Software Company, best known for products like Macintosh, iPod and iphone. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne had together setup Apple in 1976, to sell their hand-built computer Apple I. They had offered their product to HP first but were declined by them. I think HP would still be regretting this today.

The road to success wasn’t easy for Apple, and Wayne liquidated his share in the company for a mere $ 800. After the launch of Apple II in 1977, things started to look up for Apple and we all know what heights the company has reached since then.

Apple II was successful mainly because it had colored graphics. Great and simple design, has always been the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) for Apple, and their logo is no exception. When Apple was started, the logo was a complicated picture of Isaac Newton sitting under a tree. This had been designed by Jobs and Wayne, with the inscription: “Newton … A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought … Alone.” Frankly, I don’t think it was just a coincidence that Apple had slow sales during this period.

However, Steve Jobs hired Rob Janoff to simplify the logo, which turned out to be a great idea. Rob created the ‘Rainbow Apple’ which was the logo for company till 1998. There are many rumors as to why Rob had chosen to create such a logo. One of them says that the Apple was a tribute to Newton (discovery of gravity from an Apple), and since the USP for Apple at that time was colored graphics, it had the rainbow colors. Another explanation exists that the bitten apple pays homage to the Mathematician Alan Turing, who committed suicide by eating an apple he had laced with cyanide. Turing is regarded as the father of computers. The rainbow colors of the logo are rumored to be a reference to the rainbow flag, as homage to Turing’s homosexuality.

Janoff, however, said in an interview that though he was mindful of the “byte/bite” pun (Apple’s slogan back then: “Byte into an Apple”), he designed the logo as such to “prevent the apple from looking like a cherry tomato.”

When Apple launched the new iMac in 1998, they changed their logo to a monochromatic apple logo, almost identical to the rainbow logo. Now, the Apple logo comes with nice gradient chrome silver design. It is one of the most recognized brand symbols in the world today, and the shape is what identifies the company more than the color.

Largest Bankruptcies in World History

Largest Bankruptcies in World History

Most of you already know that bankruptcy is a way of dealing with debts where a court makes an order against you if you are unable to pay your debts. Nearly 19% of individual bankrupts are under the age of 30, In the last few years there’s been a noticeable trend in the rise of the number of young people declaring bankruptcy, with the majority of individual bankrupts being under the age of 30. Corporate Bankruptcies is somewhat different than individual Bankruptcy. Let’s have a look at some of the world’s largest corporate bankruptcies starting with “Lehman Brothers”.

01. Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 09/15/2008

·         Assets: $691 billion

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial-services firm which, until declaring bankruptcy in 2008, participated in business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales, research and trading, investment management, private equity, and private banking. It was a primary dealer in the U.S. Treasury securities market.

Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history with Lehman holding over $600 billion in assets. According to Bloomberg, reports filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan) on September 16 indicated that J.P. Morgan provided Lehman Brothers with a total of $138 billion dollars in “Federal Reserve-backed advances.” The cash-advances by JPMorgan Chase were repaid by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for $87 billion on September 15 and $51 billion on September 16.

It was well known that Lehman, an Alabama cotton trader turned banking behemoth, was the biggest bankruptcy in US history. But nobody anticipated quite what would follow – a week that has become known on Wall Street as the great panic of 2008.

02. Washington Mutual Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 09/26/2008

·         Assets: $327.9 billion

On September 26, 2008, Washington Mutual, Inc. and its remaining subsidiary, WMI Investment Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Washington Mutual, Inc. was promptly delisted from trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and commenced trading via Pink Sheets. All assets and most liabilities (including deposits, covered bonds, and other secured debt) of Washington Mutual Bank’s liabilities were assumed by JPMorgan Chase. Unsecured senior debt obligations of the bank of were not assumed by the FDIC, leaving holders of those obligations with little meaningful source of recovery.

On Friday, Sep. 26, 2008, Washington Mutual Bank customers in the branches were given a letter that said the combined JPMorgan Chase and Washington Mutual Banks have 5,400 branches and 14,200 ATM’s in 23 states. Washington Mutual account holders were able to continue banking as normal. Deposits held by Washington Mutual became now liabilities of JPMorgan Chase.

Official Website Information Link News Link

03. WorldCom Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 07/21/2002

·         Assets: $103.9 billion

WorldCom founded in 1963, it grew to be the second largest long-distance provider in the U.S. It was purchased by WorldCom in 1998 and became MCI WorldCom, and afterwards being shortened to WorldCom in 2000. WorldCom’s financial scandals and bankruptcy led that company to change its name in 2003 to MCI. The MCI name disappeared in January 2006 after the company was bought by Verizon.

WorldCom’s bankruptcy filing in 2002 was the largest such filing in U.S. history. The WorldCom scandal is regarded as one of the worst corporate crimes in history, and several former executives involved in the fraud faced criminal charges for their involvement. Most notably, company founder and former CEO Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and former CFO Scott Sullivan received a five-year jail sentence, which would have been longer had he not pleaded guilty and testified against Ebbers. Under the bankruptcy reorganization agreement, the company paid $750 million to the Securities & Exchange Commission in cash and stock in the new MCI, which was intended to be paid to wronged investors.

04. General Motors Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 06/01/2009

·         Assets: $91 billion

General Motors Company, also known as GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. By sales, GM ranked as the largest U.S. automaker and the world’s second largest for 2008. GM had the third highest 2008 global revenues among automakers on the Fortune Global 500. GM manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries, recently employed 244,500 people around the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries.

GM filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in the Manhattan New York federal bankruptcy court on June 1, 2009 at approximately 8:00 am EST. June 1, 2009 was the deadline to supply an acceptable viability plan to the U.S. Treasury. The petition is the largest bankruptcy filing of a U.S. industrial company. The filing reported US$82.29 billion in assets and US$172.81 billion in debt.

05. CIT Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 11/01/2009

·         Assets: $71 billion

CIT Group, Inc. is a large American commercial and consumer finance company, founded in 1908. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. The company is included in the Fortune 500 and is a leading participant in vendor financing, factoring, equipment and transportation financing, Small Business Administration loans, and asset-based lending. The company does business with more than 80% of the Fortune 1000, and lends to a million small and medium businesses. Like many other financial institutions, the New York-based small business lender spent years on a debt-fueled growth binge. But when Lehman Brothers’ failure drained the Wall Street liquidity pool, CIT was left high and dry.

The firm hastily won approval to become a bank holding company and took TARP funds, but regulators kept CIT Bank on a short leash. Starved of cash, the firm sought a second federal bailout in July but was rejected — forcing it to take a $3 billion loan, later expanded to $4.5 billion, from big bondholders.

CIT later dropped its CEO and tried a big debt swap, but it was no use. The century-old company was sunk the day the easy money dried up.

06. Enron Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 12/02/2001

·         Assets: $65.5 billion

Enron Corporation (former NYSE ticker symbol ENE) was an American energy company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy in late 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 and was one of the world’s leading electricity, natural gas, pulp and paper, and communications companies, with claimed revenues of nearly $101 billion in 2000. Fortune named Enron “America’s Most Innovative Company” for six consecutive years. At the end of 2001 it was revealed that its reported financial condition was sustained substantially by institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud, known as the “Enron scandal”.

The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, the dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world. In addition to being the largest bankruptcy reorganization in American history at that time, Enron undoubtedly is the biggest audit failure.

Enron was estimated to have about $23 billion in liabilities, both debt outstanding and guaranteed loans. Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase in particular appeared to have significant amounts to lose with Enron’s fall. Additionally, many of Enron’s major assets were pledged to lenders in order to secure loans, throwing into doubt what if anything unsecured creditors and eventually stockholders might receive in bankruptcy proceedings.

07. Conseco Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 12/17/2002

·         Assets: $61 billion

Conseco, Inc. is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. Conseco, Inc. is not an insurance company. Conseco, Inc. is engaged in insurance and consumer finance operations through a number of subsidiary companies. As a holding company, Conseco, Inc. is a separate legal entity that is distinct and apart from its subsidiary insurance companies. On December 17, 2002, Conseco, Inc., (Conseco) along with several subsidiaries, including CIHC, Inc. and Conseco Finance Corp., filed for permission to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. The company collapsed under a huge debt load resulting from a rash of acquisitions in the 1990s, including the $6 billion purchase of Green Tree, the nation’s largest lender to mobile-home buyers.

Under the terms of a tentative bankruptcy agreement, Conseco Finance Corp. will be sold to CFN Investment Holdings LLC. Conseco Finance became insolvent after it failed to make a $4.7 million payment that was due Dec. 4.

08. Chrysler LLC Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 04/30/2009

·         Assets: $39 billion

Chrysler Group LLC is a U.S. automobile manufacturer headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler AG (now Daimler AG).

On April 30, 2009, President Obama forced Chrysler into federal bankruptcy protection and company announced a plan for a partnership with Italian automaker Fiat. On June 1, Chrysler LLC stated they were selling some assets and operations to the newly formed company Chrysler Group LLC. Fiat will hold a 20% stake in the new company, with an option to increase this to 35%, and eventually to 51% if it meets financial and developmental goals for the company.

09. Thornburg Mortgage Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 05/01/2009

·         Assets: $36.5 billion

Thornburg Mortgage Inc. was an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founded in 1993, the company is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires & manages mortgages, with a specific focus on jumbo and super jumbo adjustable rate mortgages.

During the Financial crisis of 2007–2010 the company experienced financial difficulties related to the ongoing subprime mortgage crisis, and on April 1, 2009 Thornburg Mortgage, Inc. and four of its affiliates (collectively, the “Debtors”) filed petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland seeking relief under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. After the sale of all remaining assets, it would no longer exist as a going concern.

10. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Bankruptcy

·         Bankruptcy Date: 04/06/2001

·         Assets: $36.1 billion

This company, with its headquarters in San Francisco, was founded in 1905 and supplies natural gas and electricity to most areas of Northern California. This company did well initially and had gas power, several hydroelectric and steam plants. Under the electricity market deregulation, the company sold off its natural gas power plants and retained the hydroelectric plants. But with the selling of the gas power plants, the generating capacity went down and it had to buy power from other energy generators. The company had to buy at fluctuating prices and sell at fixed prices, which led to losses and eventually bankruptcy. In 2004, the company emerged from bankruptcy and established itself extremely well and was named one of the most profitable companies for 2005 on the Fortune 500 list.

Bankruptcy cases are always filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court and are governed by federal law. State laws are also applied when it comes to property rights. There have been several other notable bankruptcies in American history, such as Texaco, Inc. and Financial Corp. of America. While some companies survived a bankruptcy and came out strong, others faded into oblivion.

PG&E was one of the most profitable companies on the Fortune 500 list for 2005 with $4.5 billion in profits out of $11 billion in revenue.

High tax rates spook growth & revenue

Taxation plays a vital role in any economy irrespective of whether it is developed or a developing one. In developing countries such as India, the problem is collecting enough revenue to provide essential public infrastructure and human development services and at the same time reducing the fiscal deficit . 

Therefore, finalising tax rates involves a tight-rope walk with several parameters to boost the country's economy.

Various studies on the impact of corporate tax on economic growth have demonstrated that high corporate tax rates reduce investment, entrepreneurial activity and economic growth. Paradoxically, high corporate tax rates do not appear to result in higher tax revenues.

Trends indicate that instead of increasing tax rates, widening the tax base results in better tax revenues over a period of time, coupled with simpler and voluntary tax compliance. 

In India, historically corporate tax rates had been on the higher side. However, over the last decade or so, they have come down from approximately 40% to 33.2%.

At the same time, the share of direct tax revenues in the gross tax revenues for the country has risen from 43% in 2005-06 to 58% in 2009-10.

The share of corporate tax revenue in the gross tax revenue has risen from 28% in 2005-06 to 40% in 2009-10, reflecting a shift in our tax structure where historically indirect taxes formed a major share of the tax revenues.

Corporate tax is also a big lever for governments to enhance the attractiveness of a country as an investment destination.

Like corporations, governments also compete with each other to attract the maximum foreign direct investment (FDI) into their countries.  

In today's global environment, India is competing with the likes of China, Brazil, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, etc for attracting global FDI. The tax rates for some of these countries are significantly lower.  

China, which is considered as the 'manufacturing hub' of the world and a significant competitor to India, pegs its corporate tax at 25%. The effective corporate tax rate for the Philippines is 30%.

In the financial services space, India competes closely with Singapore; Singapore's effective corporate tax rate is 17%.

There is a case for India to look at corporate tax rates very closely, considering the global competitive strong landscape.

The government undertook a major exercise in the form of the first draft of Direct Tax Code (DTC) whereby corporate tax was reduced to 25% - a welcome shift towards simplification and competitiveness. 

However, this was watered down in subsequent versions of the DTC, wherein the corporate tax rate was restored to 30%.

With the DTC still some time away, the Government should seriously consider the opportunity to introduce this reduced effective tax rate in the coming Budget 2011 and give India that competitive advantage.

Food inflation at 7-week low of 13.07%

Food inflation fell to a seven week low 13.07% for the week ended January 29 as pulses turned cheaper, even as vegetables remain costly. Snapping the two week rising trend, food inflation fell nearly 4 percentage points in the week from 17.05% in the week ended January 22. On an annual basis, 

prices of potatoes declined 8.87%, while pulses fell 8.63% and wheat by 3.58%,, data released by the government showed.

Prices on onion, which had more than doubled in the week ended January 22, eased in the subsequent week. However, onions continued to remain dearer by 78.64% for the week ended January 29.

Vegetables as a whole have turned costlier by 44.34% on an annual basis.

Fruits and milk became costlier by 10.46% and 11.66% on a year on year basis respectively.

Stock market decline may hit economic growth & employment: PHD Chamber

NEW DELHI: The crippling deceleration in the stock market may dampen the business sentiment and cause a slowdown in India’s growth story through its negative wealth effects, a press release issued by PHD Chamber said here on Thursday. 

The negative wealth effects cause slowdown in consumption, which impacts the manufacturing, labour market, employment, and common man. More than 500000 (five lakh) jobs were lost during Oct-Dec 2008, the post-Lehman market crash. The economic growth during 2008-09 also fell to 6.7%. During the peak of the global economic crisis – the Sep-Dec 2008 period, markets tanked around 50% and economic growth fall to around 6%, the release said. 

Significant positive correlation has been observed between SENSEX & GDP Growth, and SENSEX & Private Consumption Growth. These are 0.63 and 0.55, respectively. 

Since the beginning of the current year-2011, the stock market has been declined very sharply by more than 15%. If the trend continues it may impact the FY 2012 real GDP growth as we are near the completing of FY 2011. 

Although the retail participation in stock market is less than five percent in India, but still it impacts the sentiment through spill over effects on various segments of the economy. 

People should spend more and consume more during booms, which triggers the labour market activity, manufacturing growth, and markets. The post-Lehman growth is mainly markets driven and positive sentiments in markets should continue to make the growth momentum sustained, the release added. 

The elevated inflation and possibility of further interest rate hikes have impacted the market sentiment during the recent months. 

Government should take supply side measures to contain higher inflationary expectations and should not depend only on the tight money measures as these are going to impact India’s growth story, the Chamber release said.

India could lead the global economy this century: US

India could lead the global economy in the 21st century if it takes further steps on economic reforms and opens up more sectors to foreign players, US commerce secretary Gary Locke said on Thursday. "If India continues its walk down the path of reform, if it continues to become more open to the 

investments and the innovations of foreign companies... it will stand a much better chance... to lead the global economy in the 21st century," US commerce secretary Gary Locke said in Mumbai.

He also raised the issues of reciprocity in trade between the two countries and a need to remove cross-border barriers, saying that India continued to be ranked low on ease of doing business because of such hindrances.

Locke pointed to high duties like 19% levies on civil aviation aircraft and 50% on apples, besides raising issues like limits on foreign direct investment in key sectors and inadequate protection of intellectual property.

"These measures explain why India is still ranked only 134 out of 183 countries on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report," he said, addressing business leaders at a conference organised by industry body FICCI.

Locke, who was in India on a four-day visit, met Indian CEOs including Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani who were part of the US-India CEO Forum.

They discussed a wide range of critical issues including clean energy, standards and education.

Locke said: "We have made important progress this week, not just to lay the groundwork for more sales of US goods in India, but to take another real step towards strengthening the bonds between the governments, the businesses and the people of India and the US".

Locke was here on a high-technology trade mission, which he had announced during President Obama's trip last November.

He was accompanied by 24 companies,promoting technologies and services related to civil nuclear energy, civil aviation, defence, homeland security and communications.

During his stay, Locke visited three cities - New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

In the first 11 months of 2010, US merchandise exports to India totalled $17.6 billion, up 17% from the same period last year. The bilateral trade was $36.5 billion in 2009-10.

Locke said the US is seeking a level-playing field and "merely" asking for the same treatment foreign companies and investors receive in America, and added that his country has benefited by having an open trade policy.

"The simple fact is that the United States would not be the innovative, dynamic country it is today without being so open to the ideas, the innovations, and, indeed, the capital of foreigners," he said.

Locke said the full potential of Indo-US ties will be realised only when India addresses these concerns, and added that standard of living here will improve if trade barriers are lifted.

India's barriers can only protect "some domestic industries in the short-term...there is much work left to be done", he added

Even in the US, concerns were raised that "foreign investors would try to control America's destiny", but these fears have proved to be "unfounded", as the historical evidence suggests, Locke said.

America has delivered on the promises made during the Presidential visit to India, and the final nine companies were removed from the "entity list" over the last fortnight, he added.

Locke said these include subordinate entities of the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Defence Research and Development Organisation, which were barred as part of sanctions following India's 1998 nuclear tests.

No food inflation in Parliament canteen

 Can you imagine a vegetarian thali lunch for Rs.12.50 or a katori (small bowl) of dal at Rs.1.50, and chapatis for a rupee each at a time when the prices of essential commodities are touching the sky?

Yes it is possible, even if food is getting out of the reach of the poor in the country. Welcome to the Parliament House canteen - where delectable dishes will never act pricey.

A series of catering units run by Indian Railways at Parliament House, including at the library and the annexe building, serve food at rates which are a good decade old but are hard to digest for a newcomer.

MPs, who are seen shouting at each other and castigating the government over the rising food prices, definitely relish the cheap canteen food. But, mind you, the facility is not for them only. Parliament staff, low-paid security personnel and accredited journalists too enjoy the delicacies at rates which an ordinary citizen outside cannot even think of.

Dal, considered to be the poor man's food in India and which is now getting too expensive to even fit his bowl, costs just Rs.1.50 for a katori.

Low rates make the desserts sweeter. A katori of kheer at Rs.5.50 will never taste bitter. So will a small fruit cake at Rs.9.50 and a helping of fruit salad at Rs.7.

If you want to have soup, enjoy a bowl full at Rs.5.50, and for a heaped plate of cooked rice you need to shell out just Rs.2. Dosa is available at Rs.4.

And, yes, a cup of piping hot tea is available for just Rs.1 -- not in the canteen but along a parliament corridor at a tea board.

Where does this come from? Remember, behind the cheap commodity there is a subsidy. All this costs the government a huge amount of tax payers' money.

The gap between the actual cost and what MPs, journalists and others have to pay, is bridged with a food budget set aside by parliament.

"Over Rs.5.3 crore has been allocated during the current financial year for the canteens. The Lok Sabha pays some Rs.3.55 crore and the Rajya Sabha shares the amount to over Rs.1.77 crore," said an official.

"Not only MPs, we serve food to everybody who is allowed inside parliament. They also include workers, gardeners and labourers," the official told IANS, defending the low prices.

The food prices were last revised in 2004.

A 15-member joint parliamentary committee on food management headed by then MP K. Yerranaidu of the Telugu Desam Party was constituted in 2005 to consider revision of the rates and the service.

"The committee didn't give any report and the rates were not revised," the official said.

During the just-concluded winter session, on an average "3,000 people were served lunch in the canteen daily", a caterer said, but strongly pleaded anonymity as "we have been told not to speak to the media without permission".

Parliament House Canteen Food Rates

Tea Re. 1

Soup Rs.5.50

Dal - one katori Rs.1.50

Veg thali (dal, subzi,4 chapatis, rice/pulao, curd and salad) Rs.12.50

Non-veg thali Rs.22

Curd rice Rs.11

Veg pulao Rs.8

Chicken biryani Rs.34

Fish curry and rice Rs.13

Rajma rice Rs.7

Tomato rice Rs.7

Fish fry Rs.17

Chicken curry Rs.20.50

Chicken masala Rs.24.50

Butter chicken Rs.27

Chapati Re.1 a piece

One plate rice Rs.2

Dosa Rs.4

Kheer - one katori Rs.5.50

Fruit cake Rs.9.50

Fruit salad Rs.7

Stop fighting with each other friends, its time to stop trusting politicians blindly, they all are enjoying their lives, and the only people suffering are Poor and Aam Aadmi, while the politicians fill themselves up to the brim with this cheap food so that they have sufficient energy to throw slippers and make perfect asses of themselves inside the venerable Parliament.