Business Today 13-Jan-2019

At the year-end, I am reminded of T.S. Eliot’s poem, Burnt Norton: “Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past.” With lessons learnt from the past, it’s time to look forward. And contemplating about the future has become even more important because we are in the middle of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and new technologies are upending entire industries and business models. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is likely to be far more disruptive than the previous three. A confluence of technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, 3D printing, quantum computing, gene mapping and targeting, and lab-grown organs are likely to have a profound impact on everything from manufacturing to agriculture and healthcare. For our anniversary issue, therefore, we…

AS GST ANNUAL return filing and audit deadlines approach, businesses now face the uphill battle of yet another complex round of compliance. The GST audit presents a unique challenge for businesses that have operations in multiple states and accordingly registrations in all those states. The GST law requires these entities to get state-wise audits but the legal requirement for any company is to get one statutory audit done for all operations across the country. This audit is not done state-wise, but GST audits would be done state-wise. Now the challenge for these entities is to breakdown the numbers – sales, expenses, etc. – state-wise. This would require a lot of number crunching, tallying, verification, etc. Given that the GST audits have to be done along with annual returns filing, all…

INTERNET PHARMACIES may finally be legal in India. With close to 50 serious players who account for a combined turnover of ₹1,500 crore, one would say it is about time that the government came out with regulations for the industry. Two weeks back the Madras High Court asked e-pharmacies to shut down by 20 December and asked the Centre to notify regulations; and then again suspended the ban after a group of e-pharmacies filed an appeal. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court also recently banned online sale of drugs and medicines. Once the new regulations come in, internet pharmacies will have to register with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and get requisite state licences for wherever they are based. Meanwhile, once e-pharmas get the stamp of legitimacy, and provide…

IT DITHERED for months and now the Ministry of Power has released guidelines to install both Japanese (CHAdeMO) and Chinese (CCS) charging technologies for electric cars. The ambiguity between the two types had stalled India’s nascent electric car push spearheaded by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. It is doubtful if this decision will usher in any certainty either. Using both will spur the automobile industry but will increase the cost of every charging station. The chicken and egg problem of consumers not buying electric cars unless adequate charging infrastructure is available and charging companies reluctant to invest unless there is a reasonable fleet available to them to service, is at the heart of the electrification challenge in India. The need was to opt in favour of one over the other. By…

AFTER STRUGGLING to stay profitable, the luxury hotel chain Hotel Leela Ventures seems to be ready for sale. After reports of a possible sale emerged last month – with Thailand’s Minor International – the company is reportedly close to selling its majority stake in Canadian alternative asset manager Brookfield Asset Management. The deal, whenever it happens, is a tell tale sign of the overall improvement in the hospitality sector, which is attracting global investment companies. The occupancy rates have been inching up across branded hotels resulting from higher demand, and slower supply additions. The static average room rate remains the only hitch. For Hotel Leela Ventures the sale would possibly end its five-year saga of losses and the nine property strong chain would be in a position to take advantage…

SOON AFTER they assumed office, the newly elected chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh announced they were waiving farm loans. Rajasthan, the third state that elected the Congress to power, also declared that farm loan waiver - a pre-election promise - would be the first decision its new Cabinet would take. Two questions remain. One, what will be the exact nature of loan waiver - how many farmers will benefit and within what period? Two, what will be the fiscal burden and where will these states find the money to fund this expense? One thing is for certain. Loan waivers aren’t a permanent solution to farmers’ woes. We need to make agriculture profitable and a job creating enterprise. Farmers’ income levels should rise. There is no alternative.…