Business Today 20 November 2016

This year, the fireworks started a week before Diwali. On Monday, October 24, the board of directors of Tata Sons, on the advice of the principal shareholders – the Tata Trusts – decided to “replace” the chairman of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry. The move was not only fairly abrupt, it hinted at all sorts of backroom manoeuvring. From the details that have come out so far, Mistry came to know of the impending move just before the board meeting when one of the directors told him to resign or else. At the board meeting itself, the agenda to remove Mistry was tabled under “any other business” so that the mandatory 15-day notice could be waived. And, according to a letter written by Mistry, he was not even given an opportunity…

Challenges in Tracking Black Money This refers to your feature on black money (Hunting Black Bucks, November 6). It has painted a more detailed picture of what goes wrong in mopping up black money like chasing the mirage of wishful thinking without robust strategies. The PAN mandatory conditions overlook the money sharks in oceans and attempt to catch only fish in the smaller ponds. Revamping I-T Act is overdue and stressing it now is like reinventing the wheel. The systemic drawbacks of I-T Act, collusion of officials with wheeler-dealers, pervasive corruption, political chicanery, tardy implementation of schemes and lethargy of government machinery sow the seeds of black money. Radical legislative techniques, heightened diplomatic camaraderie with other nations, and re-crafting and re-tooling the recovery mechanism will force the truant elements to…

5.63 lakh crore, worth of investment commitments to Madhya Pradesh across sectors during the two-day Global Investors’ Summit in Bhopal, said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan 86,000 crore, or $13 billion, of cash, the Essar Group will get from selling 98 per cent stake in its oil unit and other assets. This will not only help it reduce operating company term debt by half, but will also wipe out a substantial part of the holding company’s debt, making it the largest debt reduction exercise by an Indian business THE INSIDER D.N. Prahlad’s appointment as an independent director on Infosys’s board has not gone down well with at least one proxy advisory firm. A relative of founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, Prahlad is being seen as a nominee of the founder-promoters, and…

POWER EQUATIONS WHAT: CII Renewable Energy Summit WHEN: November 11, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Given that India’s renewable energy potential is 896 GW, CII will provide a platform to discuss strategies and policy initiatives to scale up rooftop solar deployment, off-grid energy solutions, investment potential and smart grid implementation with a special focus on the northern states TOWARDS GROWTH WHAT: The India Finance Forum 2016 WHEN: November 11-12, Chennai WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The CII event will provide a platform for finance professionals to discuss and deliberate on the recent policy initiatives by the government, including GST, Make in India and Ease of doing Business, to meet the emerging challenges for the sector BUILDING ON WHAT: India Infrastructure Summit 2016 WHEN: November 16, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK…

In mid-October, the Ruia Group sold its flagship company, Essar Oil, to a Russian consortium for $12.9 billion. The rationale for the deal was clear. The group was reeling under heavy debt, and the sale was meant to reduce its burden by half. However, the tone and tenor of the announcement of the deal, which happened during the BRICS summit in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested that it was a development that India should be proud of. It was showcased as India’s largest foreign direct investment (FDI) deal, ever. Technically, it is okay to make such claims. India considers both the inflow of foreign funds for acquisition of existing assets (brownfield investments) and investments made to create new assets (greenfield investments), as…

MOST GLOBAL IT COMPANIES HAVE OPENED BIG INDIA CENTRES, NEGATING THE ADVANTAGES ENJOYED BY INDIAN COMPANIES As the second quarter corporate result season draws to a close, it is clear that Indian IT services companies, both large and small, have fared poorly, a trend that has been continuing for quite a few quarters now. This has inspired a number of obituaries about the sector, which contributes about 9.3 per cent to the country's gross domestic product and employs 3.5 million people directly. The companies, it seems, have enough reasons to worry. For years, Indian IT companies have thrived on merely executing orders of customers. An ever-depreciating rupee meant they could thrive on ‘Lift and Shift’ (moving work to a low-cost destination such as India). While they earned in dollars, they…