Business Today 23 April 2017

Till a year ago, there were almost a dozen players jostling for a piece of the Indian mobile telephony market. Bar a couple of them, most were making losses. Intense competition and high investment requirements ensured that the smaller players remained unprofitable. The market was ripe for consolidation and just waiting for a trigger. The trigger was the launch of Reliance Industries’ Jio last year. Since 2010, Reliance has invested over $20 billion already in building infrastructure, and it had plans for disrupting the industry. It first built a state of the art backbone for launching 4G services, and then came up with a free plan to make all the incumbents run for cover. Within six months of launch, the Jio effect has seen a record wave of consolidation in…

Revealing the “Skilling” Beauty This refers to your cover story on skill development (Skilling Juggernaut, April 9). The study has nicely portrayed the approach of certain good samaritans in developing training projects, sacrificing their personal development and career prospects at the altar of the social cause of skill building and employment generation on distinctive models. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has the responsibility of forming integred skill development schemes among Central ministries, states and NGOs to provide on-the-job training avenues, speedy employment facilities and supportive systems on technical and non-technical platforms for India’s economic development. Also, the skill development process must aid proposals for agro-based growth to teach modern techniques to the rural youth for balanced economic progress. Hope the skill development by the competent training authorities will…

“Indian companies have gamed the system and made the best use of this flawed immigration system ” US Congressman Darrell Issa , who recently introduced a legislation for a massive hike in minimum salary for those employed on H-1B visas. MUSK'S BRAINWAVE Tesla Inc. Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, has launched Neuralink Corp, a company which will work on merging computers with brains, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Neuralink is pursuing the “neural lace” technology, which involves implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day help in uploading and downloading thoughts. AIR LINK BOOST The Ministry of Civil Aviation has awarded regional routes under a new subsidy scheme to five airlines – Air India, Air Deccan, SpiceJet, Air Odisha and Turbo Megha. These airlines have been given…

5 LESSONS IN MENTORING WHAT: International Mentoring Summit WHEN: April 5, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Creating employment through entrepreneurship, especially among those at the bottom of the pyramid, has emerged as the single most important tool for Inclusive growth. The key to igniting and promoting the entrepreneurial spirit among millions of young job seekers has globally proven to be mentoring. The CII event is an effort to evolve a mentor movement that transforms youth in India and around the world. 5 6 HARNESSING THE INTERNET WHAT: India Internet Conference WHEN: April 5-6, New Delhi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Internet is transforming the way we work, network, interact and share information and ideas around the globe. FICCI in partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and IT is organising…

Over six times. This is the growth in the number of Limited Liability Partnership, or LLPs, since 2012. The number is quite high when compared with less than two times growth in the number of companies that were incorporated during this period. So, what is behind the sudden popularity of LLPs? The LLP model, introduced in 2008, is an alternative corporate business form that gives the benefits of limited liability of a company and flexibility of a partnership. Parliament had enacted the LLP Act in 2008; it came into effect in 2009. An LLP differs from a joint stock company in terms of internal governance structure. A company is regulated by statute whereas an LLP is governed by a contractual agreement between partners. An LLP has more flexibility and lesser…

AFTER THE FIASCO, ONE QUESTION COMES TO MIND — THE COMPANIES' INTENTION TO SWITCH TO THE FAR STRICTER BS-VI EMISSION NORMS BY 2020 The Supreme Court has dealt a severe blow to the automobile industry in a move that will change the way this critical industry — which accounts for 7 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product — operates. The court, on March 29, dismissed the plea of automakers that they be allowed to clear their inventory of Bharat Stage-III (BS-III) compliant vehicles built before the BS-IV deadline of April 1. This means they will have to clear their inventory, worth thousands of crores, in a fire sale. This is not the first time the court has warned the industry on the sensitive issue of environment. In December…