Innholdsfortegnelse for 28-Jun-20 i Business Today

Companies age just like humans. They get stiff and unresponsive, decision-making slows and stubbornness grows. Disabilities eventually consume the human body but firms have the good fortune to carry on. Provided, they change with the times. Yet, organisations are the toughest to change. The older they are, the harder it gets. Those that manage to transition often have longevity way beyond their peers. One such dramatic transformation is underway at the 54-year-old Reliance Industries, India’s largest and most valuable firm that could enhance its longevity beyond the oil business. The company’s 63-year-old Chairman Mukesh Ambani – at the helm since 2002 – is in a tearing hurry, driving the metamorphosis of the oil and petrochemical giant into a technology firm. He has ploughed in more than ₹6 lakh crore in…

3,009 registered insolvency professionals 69 registered insolvency professional entities 3,030 registered valuers 1 Information Utility Source: IBBI Date as of 31 March 2020 The government’s move to suspend the insolvency and bankruptcy law for six months to one year has put stakeholders of the insolvency regime in a bind. Many of them – insolvency professionals (IPs), insolvency professional entities (IPEs), valuers, lawyers and others – face uncertain times. An IPE is a legal entity of IPs, who are its partners/directors. Its objective is to provide support services to IPs, who run companies under insolvency and are appointed by the Committee of Creditors. Many of these professionals/entities have invested a lot in creating infrastructure, systems and networks to deal with insolvency cases. Over the last four years – the Insolvency and…

DRUGS India has over 150 plants approved by the USFDA, the most outside the US Leading Indian companies have plants in almost all geographies They have extensive distribution set-ups in almost all countries Making drugs in India is 30-40 per cent cheaper compared to the Western world India has huge formulation development capability and is now focussing on securing its own API supply chain VACCINES Half-a-dozen Indian vaccine makers have global standard manufacturing capabilities and distribution set-ups India supplies over 60 per cent vaccines required by the UNICEF and has an established supply chain Over 70 per cent of vaccines used across the world are Made in India Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest vaccine maker in volume terms A new vaccine plant is capital intensive and requires…

India’s economy is expected to shrink in FY21. Most economists predict India will enter recession by September. What is your assessment? Not just India, but the world economy will shrink in FY21. However, most analysts estimate the fallout in India will not be as severe as in other countries. In April, the International Monetary Fund had stated the Indian economy will grow in FY21, albeit at a slower pace. Even high frequency indicators, such as the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), showed improvement between April and May. June might be better, given that the economy is opening up. If India does see a full-year recession, it is not likely to be very deep, and we should see the economy bounce back in the next fiscal. In which quarter do you expect…

On March 6, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a candid admission on the floor of Parliament. He told the Rajya Sabha that India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the 10-country ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), its biggest trade pact so far, has increased the country’s trade deficit with them. India’s trade deficit with ASEAN was $5 billion at the time of implementation of the FTA (FY11). In FY19, it was $21.8 billion, a four-fold increase, he said. The discomfort with large trade agreements like the one with ASEAN was visible in November 2019 too when India walked out of talks for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – seen as leading to create the world’s largest economic block – signed among 16 East Asian economies, including…

In a quarterly video conference with executives in 2012, Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani started with a warning — “What has brought us here will not take us to the future.” He was concerned that Reliance’s mainstay business of crude oil refining and petrochemicals could lose sheen amid push for renewable energy, electric mobility and growing global trade tensions. So what should RIL do? About a year back, in 2011, Ambani’s daughter Isha had sowed the seed of a new business, though. Home from Yale University for a holiday, Isha decried poor broadband speeds in India. Until then, even though Ambani had already planned entering telecom by acquiring Infotel Broadband Ltd in 2010, his mind hadn’t quite zeroed in on the huge digital and telecom opportunity due to pent-up…

MANOJ MODI Modi is Director of Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio. However, he is de facto CEO of the conglomerate. Modi, Ambani’s classmate from engineering college, was in charge of building the Jamnagar refinery and petrochemicals complex. After setting the stage for Reliance Retail growth, he moved on to build the digital ecosystem for Reliance Jio NIKHIL MESWANI Nikhil, the elder son of Dhirubhai Ambani’s cousin Rasiklal Meswani, is in charge of the petrochemicals business, which became the largest cash flow generating vertical last year. He spearheaded the ₹1 lakh crore expansion of the petrochemicals business over the last three years. Meswani has been on RIL board since 1988 HITAL MESWANI The younger brother of Nikhil joined RIL in 1990 and has been on the company’s board since 1995. He…

ASSAM Extension of working hours to 12 based on agreement between employer and employee Overtime wages to be paid for extra hours Above changes applicable for three months from May 8 Factories Act, Shops and Establishments Act *As per the Factories Act 1948, a worker cannot work for more than nine hours in a day and 48 hours in a week GOA Extension of working hours to 12 in a day and 60 in a week Overtime hours to be less than 75 in a quarter Workers can’t work overtime continuously for more than seven days Overtime charges apply if a person works more than 48 hours in a week Above changes applicable till July 31 Factories Act HIMACHAL PRADESH Extension of working hours to 12 in a day and…

Andrew Poon, Hong Kong-based partner at global leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder, while talking to the CEO of an insurance company from the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, heard about his plans to change the structure of his organisation. Instead of the traditional architecture, led by a set of leaders, he was thinking about organising the company on the basis of customer-focussed areas. Poon, who advises companies on senior leadership issues, is not surprised. He is facing a unique set of questions from clients these days as businesses try to get back on track after a prolonged slump due to Covid-19. Most of the queries revolve around changes in organisation structure that companies want to undertake to become more agile and strong. For instance, one big lesson from the Covid crisis is…

Playing a sport helps one become a better leader. Ask Brian Moynihan, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer at Bank of America. Moynihan, who took over the reins of BofA in 2010, was co-captain of the Brown University rugby team. Like for many others in the US, for the young Moynihan, rugby was a way of life. He played fly half and inside centre. He was not imposing athletically but was fast. “You can win in rugby only if you play as a team. I mean, every person has to carry the ball, every person has to tackle, every person has to pass the ball, so you have to work as a team,” he said to the Brown Daily Herald The lesson has come in handy now that…

Tarun Katial, CEO of ZEE5 India, always starts his day with an hour-long session of Vipassana. The oldest of Buddhist meditation practices, Vipassana is also known as insight meditation movement, a direct and gradual cultivation of awareness. Vipassana, says Katial, not just rejuvenates him for the entire day, it has also taught him to ignore insignificant frills. “Vipassana meditation is the anchor of my life. I was in my raging 20s when my aunt gifted me S.N. Goenka’s book, The Art of Living. It taught me to be introspective and look for solutions within myself rather than outside. This book has transformed me into a softer, less-selfish person." Vipassana has especially helped him stay calm and focussed during the lockdown. “It has helped me rediscover myself and lead life in…

Q: What was the problem you were grappling with? A: We are all grappling with unforeseen times. My biggest worry remains well-being and safety of colleagues and health of every stakeholder associated with me or my organisation. This pandemic has not only had an unfavourable impact on businesses and economy but also a lasting impact on people. It has forever changed the way we used to live. Q: Who did you approach for advice? A: I have always followed the philosophies of our founder Konosuke Matsushita. The way he tackled the business during the 1929 economic depression, as a result of which Panasonic sailed through the difficult time, and how he kept employees’ interests at heart – this is something I draw inspiration from. Q: What was the advice? A:…

ISSUE: Asymmetrical tariff commitments; India gives too much without commensurate gains SOLUTION: Renegotiate tariff rates ISSUE: Non-tariff barriers like phyto sanitary measures, residue limits, etc SOLUTION: Mutual recognition of standards ISSUE: Entry barriers in services SOLUTION: Reciprocal visas, job permits, recognition of degrees and certificates ISSUE: Insufficient data, especially in the case of services sectors like tourism SOLUTION: Be ready with data to understand strengths and weaknesses ISSUE: WTO-plus rules SOLUTION: Stay away from provisions that can have long-term adverse impact…

ISHA AMBANI: Branding Princess It was Isha ambani’s complaint about slow internet speed at home in 2011 that made Mukesh Ambani realise the full potential of data business. She was also the force behind Reliance Retail’s fashion portal Ajio.com. A graduate from Stanford & Yale, Isha is on the Schwarzman Center Advisory Board at Yale. She is in charge of branding and marketing at Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail. She is passionately involved in customer experience. Isha and her twin brother, Akash Ambani, presented Reliance Jio’s business plan at the AGM in August 2019. She recently set up Reliance Arts Foundation to showcase the best of Indian art. Isha has also taken over some of her mother’s responsibilities at Reliance Foundation. AKASH AMBANI: Tech Buff Over the last couple of…