Innholdsfortegnelse for 12 February 2017 i Business Today

This Budget will be different from all others presented in earlier years for several reasons. One, the Railway Budget is being folded into the main Budget. Two, the Budget will get out of the Plan and non-Plan expenditure format followed traditionally, and instead create a framework for revenue and capital expenditure classifications. The Budget exercise has also been advanced by a month and it will be presented on February 1, and not February 28. The idea is that Budget proposals, once passed by Parliament, should be rolled out from April 1 as soon as the new financial year begins. Earlier, Budget proposals came into effect theoretically on April 1, but it normally took a month or more for most of it to be operational. Everyone will watch this Budget keenly,…

30 BIG DATA WHAT: CII Marketing Summit 2017 WHEN: January 30, Mumbai WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The one day summit organised by CII in collaboration with KPMG will bring together 200 participants, including senior marketing and business strategy leaders, and IT professionals, start-ups and entrepreneurs to analyse whether the emergence of digital marketing will need marketers to be data scientists 31 RISK APPETITE WHAT: Risk Management System: ISO 3100 series WHEN: January 31, Gurgaon WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The CII program will analyse risk management systems, including cyber and structural risk and control systems, and help identify, influence and understand company- and project-specific risk management systems. It will also throw light on software that identify frauds, such as IDEA, SPSS, Minitab, to safeguard business activities 1 GREEN FUND WHAT: Innovation…

The domestic cement industry was starting to show signs of revival when demonetisation happened. The demand slowdown that followed has led to a decline in prices in most regions. The companies are expecting some relief in the Budget. In the southern market, prices fell by 30 per bag in October and November. Prices during the first eight months of the financial year were around 305 per bag, lower by 20 when compared with the same period in 2015/16. A similar decline was seen in western markets. From 265 per bag in October, prices dropped to 240 in November 2016. Northern and Eastern regions weathered the storm better with prices remaining stable at 325-335 per bag. After demonetisation, volume growth has been impacted in all regions. The main reason is the…

PM UJJWALA YOJANA: providing access to cleaner LPG to all BPL family PM MUDRA YOJANA: providing softer loans to poor EMPOWERMENT OF POOR, not through entitlements, but through initiatives like the Jan Dhan Yojana and Direct Benefit Transfer PM KAUSHALAYA VIKAS YOJANA: skilling the poor RURAL ELECTRIFICATION: providing free electricity connections to all poor; 24X7 electricity to all by 2019 DEMONETISATION of currency SOFTER LOANS for MSMEs…

Establishment of commercial courts not only leads to specialisation in the judiciary, but also ensures that only one part of the judicial system deals with such cases, leaving major resources for deciding non-commercial matters Pendencies in Indian courts continue to remain very high. The reasons are multifold – complex procedures for adjudication, lack of any deterrent against seeking adjournments, timelines not being adhered to at various stages of the case, etc. Some of the maladies in the system were sought to be remedied by the amendments to the code of civil procedure in 2002. Outer timelines were fixed by these amendments, and discretion to extend them was also limited. In general, litigants and lawyers started adhering to these timelines though they were not cast in stone. In most cases, timelines…

This is an exceedingly interesting book for laymen, and serious students of corporate history In April 1970, the managing agency system was finally abolished by the Indira Gandhi government. But much before that, by the middle of the 1960s, many of the managing agencies in India were selling off their stakes and exiting the country. The history of modern India’s entrepreneurship and industrialisation would be incomplete without the story of the managing agencies that flourished between the middle of the nineteenth century. The managing agency was a peculiar corporate structure that allowed the few partners who set it up to control a number of public limited and joint stock companies, despite a very small shareholding in the latter. It allowed men with great entrepreneurial drive and organisational abilities to get…

The sixth leg of the LLOYD Business Today Pro-Am of Champions was played at the Willingdon sports club on Friday 13th January 2017. The day’s action culminated with the prize distribution ceremony followed by dinner. The winning team also earned themselves a place in the Pro-Am National finals to be held in Delhi. LLOYD Electric & Engineering is the Co-title sponsor; Indian Oil, the Fuelled By sponsor; Tata Docomothe Telecom Partner; Golflan.com  - the Digital Partner; Ballantine’s - Partner & Creatigies – the Marketing Partner of the event.…

How Super Business Edifices Are Possible This refers to your cover story on start-ups (Snip, Snip, Snip, January 29). It was an interesting investigation of the changing forms of the start-ups in India. The findings have confirmed that only start-ups who tailor their business propositions to the unpredictable demands of the market scenario will rule the roost. The primary speed and multiplication of various start-ups are being impeded by the shrinking elasticity of financial availability on account of ballooning operational expenses (opex). The Internet business firms are hit hard by the adverse business environment and the dwindling business prospects are forcing them to prune their opex and reduce capex (capital expenditure). Fierce competition among the e-retailing entrepreneurs is inherently advantageous to the customers rather than cartelisation of operatives as seen…

HE WILL ALSO HAVE TO HANDLE SHAREHOLDERS, WHO LARGELY SUPPORTED MISTRY IN HIS BATTLE WITH RATAN TATA Ousted Tata Group boss Cyrus Mistry has had a warm relation with the newly-elected Chairman N. Chandrasekaran for the past several years. Despite that, a day before the announcement, Mistry shot off an angry letter to his fellow board members at Tata Sons questioning the legality of his appointment. Mistry will be one among many whom Chandrasekaran will have to deal with, at least, in the initial days, including Ratan Tata, Nusli Wadia, retail shareholders, whistle blowers and even British Prime Minister Theresa May. Mistry has already levelled a series of allegations – fraudulent transactions, unethical practices and conflict of interest – against the Tata Group and his predecessor Ratan Tata. He has…

Overall Economic Conditions A majority felt the situation had worsened Availability of Business Finance Almost half felt the situation had deteriorated Demand Conditions A majority saw a decline Hiring Conditions A majority saw a deterioration Profit Margins A majority saw a decline Substantially worse Moderately better Moderately worse Substantially better Same/no change All figures in per cent…

A host of fresh differences have cropped up between the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the economic arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government – over the functioning of NITI Aayog, over the genetically modified (GM) mustard trials, over Chinese investment in India, over the inroads made by Uber and Amazon, and more. The SJM has openly expressed its disappointment with Arvind Panagariya and Amitabh Kant, NITI Aayog’s Vice Chairman and CEO, respectively, both of whom were handpicked for their current jobs by Narendra Modi himself. “They don’t seem to be aware of the realities on the ground or the diversity of India,” says Kashmiri Lal, SJM’S National Convenor. The SJM leadership has sought an overhaul of Niti Aayog The SJM, along with…

Candace Payne, a mother of two from the US, became a sensation on Facebook after she posted a live video donning a Chewbacca (a character from the Star Wars franchise) mask to share her joy with friends on the “internet webs”. The video, uploaded in May 2016, which shows her wearing the mask with childlike enthusiasm and laughing hysterically, has garnered over 165 million views on Facebook – the most watched live video on the social networking site. Live videos have taken the social media and video sharing platforms by storm. Whether at a party or a protest march, people are sharing the moment through live videos. The popularity of live videos can be attributed to their ease of use. It negates the need for a video camera set-up or…

By Tom Wainwright Price: 1,145 Picking his way through Andean cocaine fields, Central American prisons, Colorado pot shops, and the online drug dens, the book provides a fresh look into the drug trade and its customers. The Unusual Billionaires By Saurabh Mukherjea Penguin Price: 499 Bulls, Bears and Other Beasts By Santosh Nair Pan Macmillan India Price: 499 Ego is the Enemy By Ryan Holiday Profile Books Limited Price: 499 The Dhandho Investor By Mohnish Pabrai Wiley Price: 299 Pre-Suasion By Robert Cialdini Random House Price: 699 *Top books by sales for Jan 2 - 15, 2017; Includes only books released after Jan 1, 2015; Information provided by…

Jerome Booth, a UK-based economist and Chairman of investment group New Sparta, tells Joe C. Mathew why he is optimistic about India’s demonetisation drive. How do you perceive the demonetisation move? It’s a right, bold move. Its significance is more than trying to force people into the formal economy. India’s real problem is the absence of a real tax base. This move is aimed at getting an effective tax system. It could result in a fundamental structural reform to create an economy which is able to grow faster, more sustainably. I am not insensitive to people’s sufferings. There are clearly some costs; but I see huge benefits, too. Will this act alone result in a wider tax base? It will. It has had a huge shock effect on everybody who…

INSURANCE WINDFALL The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by the Prime Minister has given in-principle nod to list five government-owned general insurance companies – New India Assurance Company, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance Company, National Insurance Company and General Insurance Corporation of India. The government shareholding in these companies will be reduced from 100 per cent to 75 per cent in one or more tranches over a period of time GROWTH SETBACK The International Monetary Fund has lowered India’s growth forecast for 2016/17 from 7.6 per cent to 6.6 per cent following the disruption caused by the government’s demonetisation move. With the announcement, India will lose the “fastest growing major economy” tag to China, which grew at 6.8 per cent in 2016 and is expected to clock 6.5 per…

Overall Economic Situation A third expect no change Demand Two-fifths expect the situation to worsen Sales Pick-up A quarter expect things to improve Hiring Pick-up Half see no change Stock Price Pick-up Two-fifths are negative Demonetisation Effect More than three-fourths are negative Substantially worse Moderately better Moderately worse Substantially better Same/no change All figures in per cent…

India needs about `50 lakh crore for building infrastructure over the next five-seven years. No wonder the sector was the central theme of the last two Union Budgets presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. But this time, circumstances warrant an even sharper focus on the sector if the country has to have any hope of beating the slowdown triggered by demonetisation. Most economists have predicted that the impact of the cash crunch, especially on consumption-related sectors, will be severe and felt for at least a few quarters. They also agree that the high multiplier effect of infrastructure investments — a rupee spent on infrastructure leads to an outcome greater than `2 — will encourage Jaitley to announce an even sharper increase in allocation to the sector than in his first…

1 GOVERNMENT'S STANCE India is most open economy in the world RSS'S VIEWPOINT All foreign money is not taboo, but emphasis should be on getting access to cutting-edge technology 2 Make In India is the future Made by India should get equal attention 3 India is favourite global destination for FDI FDI alone cannot drive growth. India should bring out a white paper on the benefits of FDI over the last 25 years 4 FDI will generate more jobs FDI stifles job creation. It is always indigenous players who create more jobs 5 Smart cities will usher in a revolution Smart cities is fine but most Indians live in rural areas 6 FDI from anywhere is welcome Wary of investments from China 7 100 GW solar power by 2022 Not…

On May 26, 2014, the day Narendra Modi took oath as India’s 14th Prime Minister, Brent crude price was hovering at $106 a barrel in the international market. In the next three months it went up a shade higher at about $109. The following 18 months, however, saw Brent prices crashing to the $28 levels. It not only helped the government to bring down the import bill, but also allowed it to replenish its money chest – the Centre deregulated diesel prices, but maintained higher duties on petroleum products to generate more revenues. As a consequence, the consumer got little out of the fall in crude prices. The latest round of price revision – an exercise that happens every fortnight since the deregulation – on January 14, however, resets at…

At first glance, the AirPods look funny. These Bluetooth earphones look similar to the EarPods, but are wireless. I was impressed at how comfortably they snuggled into my ears, and remained so even while walking or moving my head from side to side. AirPods come neatly placed in a magnetic case which not only carries them, but also keeps them charged. The case can slip into your jeans pocket (however skinny). Each AirPod weighs 4 gms and the charging case weighs 38 gms. The connectivity of the Apple AirPods is far superior to other Bluetooth headphones. As soon as I took them out of the charging case, the AirPods detected my iPhone 7 Plus for pairing (iPhone’s Bluetooth was turned on). A pop-up appears on the phone and on hitting…

Ashok Soota co-founded IT services firm Mindtree at the age of 58, and Happiest Minds when he was 69. Mindtree is already a public company and the latter hopes to become one sometime in the future. This alone debunks the theory that entrepreneurship is just for college dropouts. While young entrepreneurs can create new disruptions, the late-stage guys certainly have a higher shot at success because they bring experience into play. Soota’s book Entrepreneurship Simplified: From Idea to IPO, co-authored with S.R. Gopalan, Founder of Dawn Consulting and Bizworth India Private Limited, brims with that experience. It certainly adds to the long list of books on entrepreneurship, some of which are celebratory in tone, but differentiates itself as a ‘how to do it’ book – a sort of step-by-step guide…