Bharat's Dress Code
A 'Mundu' clad politician at home, India's former Finance Minister of the UPA era, P Chidambaram slipped into a dark suit whenever he embarked on foreign tours. So did former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP's late finance minister Arun Jaitley, who when in India wore crisp 'Kurta' and changed into a suit when flying out. But the current BJP regime has moved away from wearing Western outfits on foreign tours. Smriti Irani's visit to Saudi Arabia last week sparked a massive meltdown of the leftist trolls on social media as the Indian minister for women, child welfare and minorities, reached the Islamic holy city of Mecca Medina in a 'Banarasi' saree and bindi. She was accompanied by V Muraleedharan, India's Minister of State for External Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs, who wore a 'Mundu.' Not many know that the austerity of sticking to Bhartiya attire on foreign tours for Indian ministers is the brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who himself has given up on Western clothing even on foreign soil. Grapevine goes that Modi ji wants the rule to be followed so rigorously that an Indian minister (native of Raigad district in Maharashtra) was recalled from Delhi airport as he was noticed trying to fly out (purportedly on a pleasure trip) in jeans and tee. Bureaucrat-turned foreign minister S Jaishankar, who wore suits even in India, too has started wearing BandhGala Jodhpuri suits and the famed 'Modi Jackets' instead of Western outfits.
High Life Of The Media Barons
Legal hassles and court cases cannot bog down India's media barrons. A few months ago, a media baron bought Rs5 crore 'SV Carmel Edition' Range Rover launched in 2023, while another flamboyant media owner was recently gifted a limousine worth Rs5.5 crore by an advertising client.
Tax raids: After Dhiraj Sahu, who next?
Income tax raids on Congress MP and country liquor baron Dhiraj Sahu that unearthed nearly Rs300 crores in cash, triggered searches at some unsuspected elements in Mumbai. Unravelling of Sahu family's empire told the income tax department that the liquor companies followed an opaque model of unaccounted sales to evade taxes. Hence, after cracking down on Sahu's country liquor empire, the tax department searched promoters of Allied Blenders and Distillers, the company that owns world's largest-selling whisky brand Officers' Choice. There are whispers among leading chartered accountants that the department should now focus on some cigarette manufacturing companies too, where the same opaque model and colossal unaccounted sales are waiting to be unearthed.
Being low profile
Flamboyant lifestyle of big bull Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh, which actually got them into trouble, has been a lesson for some operators in the stock market. Recently, after the tax department searched Allied Blenders and Distillers, they found some links to a stock market operator, who is now among the top individual taxpayers, and raided him. But since the market operator maintains a low profile, tax raids on him did not attract much attention. Similarly, the same operator had also escaped major attention when market regulator SEBI had initiated action against him in 2010 for rigging the share price of four companies in collusion with the promoters. Then, the operator briefly came into the limelight in 2010, as the share price of one of the companies he was rigging, rose to Rs 2500 from a low of Rs 500 in just around a week. But since public memory is short, nobody remembered him until he resurfaced as a key promoter of a large investment company. Tax raids on polycab wires led to huge wealth destruction for the shareholders of the company but the same did not happen to the shareholders of the company promoted by the operator, due to his low profile. Before the raids, there were rumours that the operator would be a major shareholder in an asset reconstruction company, a front for a large corporate in Mumbai. Those plans are still on.
Tough times for Gujju's?
Some Gujaraties have left and few others are planning to quit their job at a leading financial institution in Mumbai's Dalal Street. The key reason is the anti-Gujju environment after the changes at the top management, which believes that the institution had a large number of Gujarati speaking crowds in the building. The old timers say that the new management should realise that the age-old institution was originally founded by Gujarati businessmen and the community also dominated the trade. Hence, it was only natural for the institution to have Gujarati's working there in large numbers, which should not become a reason for practicing 'apartheid.' To add salt to the wounds, a senior Gujarati employee who retired after long years of service with the institution was not even given any farewell, something which smart HR managers will tell you can lower the morale of even existing employees.
Race For MCX MD, CEO
As MCX MD and CEO PS Reddy's tenure ends this year. If one goes strictly as per age criteria for the selection of the MD and CEO as per the advertisement issued by the exchange, Reddy is unlikely to be eligible. But if market regulator SEBI decides on picking him, there's no bar. Reddy's biggest KRA this year is that he will be banking upon the implementation of the new technology by MCX under him. Meanwhile, senior officials of MCX and BSE have applied for the top post. Also, sources say that SEBI has been apprised about the pending adjudication proceedings against one of those in the race. It remains to be seen what decision SEBI takes in the matter and if it considers pending adjudication proceedings as material enough in finalising the new MD and CEO since anything that SEBI does is a precedent. Meanwhile, a MCX insider is confident of him becoming the MD and CEO on the reasoning that he is strongly backed by a large shareholder of the exchange. Still, a headhunter is calling up candidates and interviewing them over the phone.
Teething Tech Woes At MCX
Several months after implementation of the new technology, the MCX is still facing issues. In November and December several crucial reports and files could not be generated or sent to the clients by the exchange in time. These reports included margin report, end of day and intra day reports. The commodity participants association kept seeking clarifications but messages in possession of BW show that a few brokers on the whatsapp groups have started suggesting their clients to use other exchange platforms too for trading. Tech woes can be costly.
Milking The Deal Fully
A promoter is said to have demanded nearly Rs1000 crores in additional compensation to close a merger deal since a foreign giant does not want certain appointments on the board. This change in the terms on key aboard appointments came after the foreign company found it problematic to let the Indian promoter continue on the board of the merged entity. But with all the legal approvals in place for the originally signed deal, the Indian promoter does not want to relent unless, the foreign entity sweetens the offer. Otherwise, the foreign entity will anyhow have to compensate the Indian promoter for breaking the deal. A middle path is being worked out.
