Business Today 26 February 2017

In my letter (A Lack of Data) in the Business Today pre-Budget special, I had pointed out: “Almost all economists agree what the finance minister ought to do. He should go in for hefty tax cuts to make firms and consumers start spending again, deepen the social security net so that the poor are benefitted, and boost government spending on infrastructure to get the economy going.” I had also pointed out that the lack of high quality data, post-demonetisation, would make working out the details of this Budget a bit difficult. “The problem is not with what he needs to do. The issue is how much he can do...” The Budget documents show that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been cautious about calculating his revenue assumptions for next year. He…

Indian Economy in a Dilemma This refers to your pre-Budget special cover story (Setting the Pace, February 12). The cover image depicting the elephantine predicament of the Indian economy was brilliant. It is clear that there are numerous threads to be urgently picked up to weave a tapestry of economic growth, affording welfare to the poor and the marginalised. The public awaits the coming Budget like a cat on a hot tin roof and by the time the next issue of BT is out, the cat will be out of the bag! It cannot be gainsaid that the budgetary formulations and prescriptions are being crafted for post-demonetisation period with the data of the pre-demonetisation stage and hence estimates will definitely fall short of demands of the pre-Budget expectations. The action…

QUOTE “ As an immigrant and as a CEO, I’ve both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world.” -Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joins the chorus of opposition to curbs on entry of immigrants from some countries announced by US President Donald Trump. Concerns over the ban have been expressed by several tech industry icons, ranging from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google founder Sergey Brin ISB BEST IN INDIA Indian School of Business (ISB) has been ranked the best B-school in India by the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking of the best 100 programmes for 2017. Globally, its rank is 27. IIM-Ahmedabad (29), IIM-Bangalore (49) and IIM- Calcutta (95) are the other B-schools…

08 RETAINING TALENT WHAT: Workshop on Employee Engagement and Retention WHEN: February 8, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The CII workshop will focus on measuring employee engagement, crucial to retaining talent. Employee engagement is the degree to which employees are emotionally bonded to their organisation and passionate about work. The session will delve on how employees can be intellectually and emotionally bound with an organisation, feel passionately about its goals and be committed towards its values. 08 BETTING ON SOLAR WHAT: Solar Invest 2017 WHEN: February 8, Hyderabad WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Assocham event will debate ways to harness solar power and make it cheaper. On top of the agenda is discussing ways to improve grid stability for evacuating solar power, which would need large investment in utility…

Had a warm conversation with President @realDonaldTrump late last evening”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on the morning of January 25, after the newly-elected head of the United States made a courtesy call to him. A following tweet said Trump had agreed to work closely with Modi to strengthen ties. Earlier, a White House statement said the two leaders discussed opportunities in economy and defence. Modi was the fifth leader Trump had called up after taking charge. Sadly, the feel good factor ended there. The US is critical for Indian IT and pharmaceutical sectors. Of India’s $108 billion IT export earnings, over 60 per cent come from the US. Similarly, 33 per cent of Indian pharmaceutical industry’s export revenues of $17 billion come from the US. Days after Trump trashed…

THERE ARE MORE CABS RIGHT NOW IN THE BIGGER CITIES, WHERE BOTH OLA AND UBER FOCUSED THEIR ENERGIES, THAN DEMAND In the third week of January, some drivers attached to cab aggregators Ola and Uber protested near Bangalore’s Town Hall. They wanted the commissions payable to the two firms be capped. On December 30, last year, drivers in Hyderabad called for a five-day strike; they wanted both Ola and Uber to stop aggregating more cabs on their platforms. Around 4,500 drivers in Chandigarh made a similar demand on Christmas Day. Protests were also reported from Ahmedabad on December 10, where drivers did not like a rise in the target fare by one of the companies. It is possible that some of the protesters were miscreants. A few drivers had figured…