Even as the Congress camp is filled with jubilation over the defeat of BJP in the three heartland states viz. Madhya Pradesh [MP], Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, there is a pall of gloom among all the right thinking citizens of India. They are visibly upset over the consequences of the reins of powers in these three important states going into the hands of those who plundered the scarce national resources – epitomized by a spate of scams during 2004-2014 [when UPA led by Congress was in command at the national level] – and pushed the country into a state of ‘policy paralysis’ and shattered the economy. That it would mend ways and deliver good governance in these states is wishful thinking....
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Category: Governance reforms
Falsehoods – It’s all about grabbing power
Having ruled the country for several decades – either directly or indirectly under coalition arrangement with pliable parties – the grand old party [read: Congress] can’t not relish the idea of someone coming from a humble background N Modi being at the helm. That Modi’s party BJP alone got a majority of its own [never seen before during the last 30 years or so], is of no consequence as the Gandhi family ruled Congress has arrogated to itself an eternal right to govern. This is the only interpretation of Indian democracy that the party understands. It is this anathema for any other leader [in this case, Modi who arouses maximum hatred] that made Dr Manmohan Singh – following his master’s...
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Minority shareholders – judiciary endorses oppression by brute majority
Cyrus Mistry – scion of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group [SPG] which holds 18.4% shares of Tata Sons Limited [TSL], holding company of the Tata Group – was elevated to the position of Chairman, TSL in 2012 [after serving several years as director on its board] with full support of Tata Trusts that has majority ownership of TSL at 66%. Mistry continued at helm for 4 years even as his performance was commended by the promoters as well as independent directors of all leading group companies viz. Tata Motors Ltd [TML], Tata Steel Ltd [TSL], Tata Consultancy Services [TCS], Tata Power Ltd [TPL], India Hotels Co. [IHC], Tata Chemicals Ltd [TCL] etc. Yet, he was removed in a meeting of TSL...
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Will SEBI protect minority shareholders of Tata entities?
The Securities and Exchange Board of India [SEBI] is looking at whether Tata Sons’ plan of becoming a private limited company from a public one would impact shareholders, especially minority shareholders of listed Tata entities that own shares in Tata Sons. Meanwhile, new structure has also been challenged before National Company Law Tribunal [NCLT]. Tata Sons Limited [TSL] is the primary holding company of over US$ 100 billion conglomerate having presence in almost every major sector viz. power, steel, automobiles, telecomm, chemicals, information technology [IT] etc. It has controlling interest in high profile companies such as Tata Motors Ltd [TML], Tata Steel Ltd [TSL], Tata Consultancy Services [TCS], Tata Power Ltd [TPL], India Hotels Co. [IHC], Tata Chemicals Ltd [TCL] [to name a...
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Removing judicial hurdles to accelerate growth
Recently, the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Specific Relief Act, 1963, and a Bill viz. The Specific Relief [amendment] Bill, 2017 was introduced in the parliament on December 22, 2017. It deals with specific fulfillment of a contract as part of the Government’s ease of doing business policy. The amendments proposes that after two parties enter into an agreement and one of them breaks the contract, the affected party will have the freedom to get the contract executed by a third party. Also, the affected party can get costs and other expenses recovered from the party which broke the agreement [under the existing law, the courts grant monetary compensation in exceptional circumstances]. In case, the contract relates to infrastructure...
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2G scam – CBI court exonerates the corrupt
December 21, 2017 will be remembered as a black letter day in India’s fight against corruption that started over three-and-a-half years ago with prime minister, Modi taking charge in May, 2014. This is a day when the corrupt politicians and their cronies thronged the roads of Delhi and Chennai celebrating – shouting slogans and distributing sweets – following the judgment of a special CBI court that heard the cases of those involved in the infamous 2G scam. The court acquitted all persons – the politicians, ex-bureaucrats and top industry executives – against whom the Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI] and Enforcement Directorate [ED] had framed charges under the Supreme Court [SC] monitored investigations. In his order, the judge OP Saini...
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Demonetization – could banks have failed Modi?
Dwelling on the success of demonetization [announced on November 8, 2016], Prime Minister Modi informed the nation from the ramparts of historic Red Fort on August 15, 2017 that the government had cancelled the registration of over 200,000 shell companies [nick name for entities which are engaged in laundering black money]. He reiterated this on October 5, 2017 in his speech at the annual function of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India [ICSI] alluding to the axe falling on another about 100,000 such companies. The government has followed it up by freezing all their bank accounts [use of the accounts is permitted only for discharge of their liabilities] and initiating action against their directors by disqualifying them from being...
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India’s growth story is intact, under Modi
The deceleration in economic growth from an already low of 6.1% during the last quarter of financial year 2016-17 to 5.7% during the first quarter of current year 2017-18 has prompted critics [this time, including Yashwant Sinha, former union finance minister in erstwhile NDA government under Vajpayee] to say Modi’s economic policies are responsible for what they allege ‘as loss of 2% in the GDP [gross domestic product] growth. The growth during January-March 2017 at 6.1% was 1.8% lower than during January-March 2016 at 7.9%. Likewise, the growth during April-June, 2017 at 5.7% was 1.4% lower than during April-June 2016 at 7.1%. Thus, even on quarterly basis, the decline is lower than 2% mentioned by critics. Even so, to formulate...
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FDI in food retail: To draw in investors, do away with restrictions
Every year, farmers are forced to sell their produce, especially perishable items such as fruits and vegetables, at throwaway prices, causing loss of income and even suicides. A major bottleneck that forces them to do so is the lack of infrastructure for handling and storage of these items, which results in the loss of output worth Rs 1 lakh crore annually, a fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi alluded to while addressing a conclave of young CEOs]. The problem has been festering for decades despite both the Union government and states recognising the dire need for setting up the infrastructure and umpteen committees making recommendations in this regard. Even domestic private companies have hardly taken any initiative despite being allowed...
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Demonetization – Modi deserves ‘Nobel Prize’
The suspense has finally ended with the Reserve Bank of India [RBI] in its Annual Report giving details of the high denomination viz. 1000/500 currency notes in circulation [these were declared invalid on November 8, 2016 by Prime Minister Modi] that came back to the banking system and those which did not. As against Rs 1544,000 crores embodied in these currency notes as on November 8, 2016, Rs 1528,000 crores had come back leaving a meager Rs 16,000 crores in the hands of public [of these Rs 8900 crores was embedded in 1000 denomination note]. This is just about 1% of value of invalidated currency. The opposition parties especially Congress are citing this to brand demonetization as a sham. P...
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