NEWSMAKER: Richard Branson

Maverick billionaire

When the 58-year-old chairman of the Virgin Group dangled on a pair of safety harnesses at a height of around 30 storeys in Mumbai to unveil the 'Virgin Mobile' logo brand on a 'skywalk' stunt, it did not take anyone by surprise.

British billionaire and maverick Richard Branson has done this before, like hot-air ballooning over the Atlantic and driving a battle tank down Fifth Avenue in New York to promote the group.

On Sunday, Branson created history once again by launching 'Virgin Mobile' brand in India, an overcrowded market with over 10 mobile brands, including another UK brand, Vodafone. The group had found an ally in Tata Teleservices to launch the brand under a franchisee agreement with the Indian CDMA major.

Even before the launch, the brand ran into trouble with the GSM operators' body, Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), stirring up a controversy by alleging that 'Virgin Mobile' was planning to offer Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services in India.

The association also moved the licensor "" the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) "" seeking clarity on Virgin Mobile's rollout of services.

An MVNO buys spectrum and uses an existing operator's infrastructure on lease, a model that is not permitted under the country's telecom regulations.

Branson brushes the controversy aside with a trademark grin, "someone out there is unhappy", and refers to this as "competition". He is also brutally honest when he says he does not know the financial details of the joint venture with Tatas, but assures that he'll get "Tata executives to give you the details".

Why the Tatas? "This brings two of the world's best brands together. We were in discussions for sometime, and if we hadn't done it with the Tatas, we would have done it with someone else".

From telecom, Branson moves seamlessly to bio-fuel, and he has every right to do so, as in February the group's aviation initiative "" Virgin Atlantic "" flew the first-ever flight powered by bio-fuel.

The company's demonstration flight, a Boeing 747, flew from London to Amsterdam with 20 per cent of one of its engines powered by a combination of coconut oil and babassu nut oil.

The three-hour journey of the plane was billed as the green fuel breakthrough in the aviation sector, even though it did not ferry any passengers.

To a question whether Virgin would look at developing bio-fuels from coconuts, Branson replies in negative. "I think the chances are that it won't be coconuts. It will be algae, as we don't want to deprive people of their foodstuffs. There is an urgent need to develop clean fuels. If we can develop algae-based bio-fuels, which we are trying to develop, then I think India holds a good potential. But we need to get this system working," Branson said.

A philanthropist, who has committed $3 billion to contain global warming over the next decade, Branson said that he was spending time to "tackle social problems" in the world.

"I put two different hats: one is to grow the Virgin Group and develop employment opportunities across the world, while the other is spent to tackle social issues and looking at conflicts in the world and trying to make some difference there. Global warming "" the five degree rise in temperature "" is also a concern for India," he said.

What are the other brands the company is planning to launch in India? In his inevitable style, Branson said, "This sounds like asking what is for breakfast tomorrow, when you just had a 10-course meal".

However, he assures, "There is no point in Virgin ever doing something, unless we can make a difference".