By Sandeep AggarwalTwenty-five years back, when Pier Omidyar wrote code for eBay in Silicon Valley and started eBay, who would have thought that most of the highly successful Internet business model will actually be a marketplace but we did not have eye to see them as marketplaces. However, if you see today, from Google to Alibaba to Uber, everything is inherently a marketplace. So what exactly are marketplaces and why have they become more successful than other business models be it online or offline?In nutshell, marketplace is a platform approach to any traditional business online. These business models primarily connect buyer and seller or demand and supply by offering tools, technologies, processes, common rules and shared resources. So, if you look around be it Google, Uber, AirBnB etc. they are all marketplaces. In India until beginning of 2013, almost 100% of the E-Commerce companies were inventory led but over time most of them morphed into marketplaces in some shape or format.Why marketplaces work? Marketplaces work because they have 3 very strong and hard to replicate structural advantages i.e. 1) they are highly capital efficient business models, 2) they truly harness Internet technologies vs. just removing inefficiency of a brick and mortar business, and 3) they have strong network effects. Marketplace require low capital because they are neither inventory led model and nor the infrastructure play. In fact, they bring power of economy of scale and economy of scope and the cost can be applied to a large pool of stakeholders. Marketplaces not only address the limitations and inefficiency of brick and mortar but are truly built on Internet technology foundation. Finally, marketplace creates network effects and that means, more buyers and suppliers join, the better it is for the entire marketplaces in terms of selection, rating and reviews, natural pricing correction, health competition etc.What makes it difficult to create a marketplace? There are three things which make it difficult to build a marketplace online. First, not everyone can think a business as platform and build complex online technologies. Second, you need a different level of mindset and vision to build an ecosystem that is required for a marketplace to run. Third, how to start a flywheel for a marketplace has always been a tough nut to crack i.e. chicken or egg dilemma i.e. buyer first or seller first.What is a well-run marketplace? A well run marketplace is the one that has built world-class and scalable technologies, have done things to build and fuel the ecosystem, deeply integrated with disparate stakeholders, and creating a mechanism of carrot and stick so that self-policing or self-correction can take place, and finally, platform where every supplier has equal chance to win or ascend to top and every buyer has no fear of suffering from gaming opportunities by sellers.As per my estimates, marketplaces have globally created over $1 trillion dollar in combined market capitalization, over 1 million direct jobs & 15 million indirect jobs, and enable nearly $500 bn worth of economic transactions, and above all, they have not only removed the inefficiencies of brick and mortar but also given consumers more choices, pricing advantage and accessibility.The author is a serial entrepreneur and founder of two marketplaces ShopClues and DroomFollow him: @sandeepagg
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By D.P. Sharan "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist". This famous line from the Bollywood movie My Name Is Khan aptly describes the ordeal of Dr Intezar Ali in Jharkhand. A medical practitioner by profession, Dr Ali has suffered injustice merely for being a member of the Muslim community. He has had to spend time in jail for about two months on frivolous charges of his alleged links with militant outfits. Perhaps, his only crime: he has kept a beard and can be identified as a Muslim easily. Like the movie character Rizwan Khan, Dr Ali kept on claiming, "I am not a terrorist and I don't have any link with the militant outfits", but he was subjected to torture to the maximum degree in police custody. He described his ordeal before the media after his release. Dr Ali was picked up by police from a train allegedly on the false charge of carrying explosives and lodged in jail. His screams of innocence remained unheard until a section of political leaders vociferously condemned his arrest following media coverage. But unlike in the movie, Ali's own community members played a key role to hatch a conspiracy against him. The issue assumes greater significance in the light of the fact that two members of his community were hired to conspire against him. Dr Ali - who was returning from Purulia in West Bengal by train after attending a medical camp - was implicated in a case of terrorist activities at the behest of senior police officials, and that too on a tip-off from none other than the Military Intelligence Agency. The MIA has impeccable credentials and is unlikely to hatch a conspiracy in tandem with others, but the ordeal that the doctor has had to undergo during his confinement shows off the ugly face of the men in uniform. In a sequel to the joint operations against militant activities, the state police and the military intelligence were supposed to achieve a target of nabbing terrorists in a stipulated period of time and obviously receive plaudits for their exemplary job to recover explosives. Dr Ali was made a scapegoat by the cops in their bid to add feathers to their caps. Planting ExplosivesAs per well-placed sources in the Intelligence Bureau and National Intelligence Agency, with the support of local cops in Ranchi, the officials of the Military Intelligence Agency hired two informers from the Hindpiri area in Ranchi to place explosives near Ali's seat in the train he was traveling. Incidentally, the informers belonged to the same community and same locality that Ali hails from. Ali is said to have recognized the informers on the train itself. If Ali is to be believed, the cops took the explosives with themselves and implicated him falsely in the case. He had nothing to do with the bag and was on his seat with his own bag, he claimed. He was identified to be implicated in the case as he had a beard. Sleuths in the central intelligence agencies had, however, clues about the conspiracy and had even apprised the State Police Headquarters about the truth on time. But the PHQ is believed to have preferred to conceal the fact ostensibly to protect the interests of senior police officials involved in the operation. The informers are believed to have been allowed to escape to West Bengal with the support of the officials of Military Intelligence. It is due to the efforts of the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Raghubar Das, who took cognizance of the statewide political and non-political outcry over the issue. He ordered a CID enquiry to determine the truth. Interestingly, while smaller political parties and individual leaders demanded the release of Ali, major opposition parties in the state like the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress lent their voice to the issue of late. The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha that first initiated steps in favour of Ali and mounted pressure on the Government for his release has only two MLAs and was accused of supporting the cause of militants while they raised the issue in the State Assembly. On the other hand, the JMM and Congress with 19 and 6 legislators respectively, preferred to stay away from the issue initially. The only leader who stood by Ali was Rajya Sabha MP from the State, Parimal Nathwani. It was Nathwani who held talks with the chief minister at the latter's residence to ensure Ali's release at the earliest within the ambit of the law. He further met the family members of the victim, too. Complying with the CM's order, the CID came out with the facts that Ali did not have criminal antecedents and no incriminating documents were found during the house-search. But the CID probe that was conducted under its IG, Sampat Meena, preferred to remain silent over the dubious role played by senior officials to make Ali a scapegoat. The CID report simply points out that Ali was implicated by default and no criminal evidence was found against him. Although Ali has been released on bail in spite of the fact that he emerged as innocent prima facie and he has little option to slap defamation suit at this juncture against the erring police officials for his mental and physical agony, discontentment has started simmering among social activists against the system. While Ali has taken a vow to fight for innocent prisoners, victims who had suffered similar ordeals in the past offered their support in his crusade. Amarjeet, Ajit and Abhimanyu - who were put in jail in a false case of murder of a girl and were tortured by police to the hilt while the girl was alive - met Ali and solicited his support to fight against the system. A prominent lawyer from Delhi is said to have offered his services for this noble cause too. Meanwhile, JVM Supremo Babulal Marandi has written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to initiate actions against officials concerned of the Military Intelligence Agency and the State Government is likely to seek intervention of the Director General of Military Intelligence in the matter too.
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Sutanu Guru looks at the underlying causes for the alarming price of pulses Many Bollywood songs refer to the act of eating "dal-roti" as available ritual for poor people in India. But with dal becoming as expensive, if not more, as fish and chicken, the myth about dal being part of a poor family's diet has been shattered irrevocably. That this unpalatable fact has touched a raw nerve is evident from ground reports coming out of election bound Bihar. The insanely high prices of dal have given a great opportunity to opponents of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hammer him with. And they seem to be succeeding to some extent. But beyond the name calling, the blame games and the political posturing, what has caused this unprecedented "dal" crisis? The author can identify five reasons for this. The first reason is a decline in output. Thanks to successive poor monsoons, the output of pulses in declined from 19.25 tons in 2013-14 to 17.20 tons in 2014-15. A poor monsoon in the current year threatens to act as a double whammy. The fact is that less than 10% of pulses are grown in farms that are irrigated. The crop is almost entirely dependent on monsoons. This is the reason why per hectare output of pulses in India is a measly 750 kg compared to the global average of more than 2000 kg. The second reason is limited output across the world. The total global output of pulses was about 70 million tons in 2014-15. India accounted for more than 25% of the global output. So when there is a crop failure in India as it happened in 2014-15, there is not much scope to import vast quantities to make up for the domestic shortfall. In any case, India imported 4.6 million tons of pulses in 2014-15. Thanks to increased demand from India, the price of arhar dal in global markets has zoomed from $ 800 a ton in 2014 to well above $ 2000 a ton in 2015. In short, there is hardly any maneuvering room left for the Modi regime. The third reason is structural and long term. India is justifiably proud of the Green Revolution that has made the country a net exporter of food grains. The last time India went with a begging bowl around the world because of food grains shortage was in 1965-66. But the Green Revolution has completely bypassed pulses. Even a cursory glance at data reveals shocking facts. The total pulses output in 1970-71 in India was 11.8 million tons. After two decades of Green Revolution, the output had gone up to 14.3 million tons. Shockingly, the total output in 2000-01 was below the output achieved 30 years ago at 11 million tons. During the same period, the wheat output had gone up five times and that of potato by about 10 times. It is only in the last decade and half that one has seen a sustained, if modest rise in pulses output. But one bad monsoon and the gains vanish. The fourth reason is perhaps the root cause behind the third reason. Since the 1970s, planners and policy makers in India have been obsessed with encouraging the production of basic food grains like rice and wheat. The entire agricultural policy of India has been geared to that end. So we have had successive governments sending out strong economic signals by raising the minimum support price for wheat and rice and virtually giving a guarantee to the farmer that their output of wheat and rice would be purchased by the state at the minimum support price. Is it a wonder the India has a "buffer stock" of wheat and rice in excess of 60 million tons? No such incentives have been provided for pulses. Farmers, anyone else in an economy, respond to economic signals and the consistent signal has been to focus on wheat and rice and neglect pulses. It is only in the last few years that there has been a concerted move to correct this absurd economic signaling. But it will take years of incentives before farmers start growing pulses on irrigated land. Till then, periodic shortages will be a fact of life. The fifth, and most controversial reason is the drastic reduction in poverty levels that India has witnessed in the 21st century. According to the Niti Ayog (formerly Planning Commission), the percentage of Indians living in poverty declined to about 22% in 2012. According to a recent report released by the World Bank, no more than 12% of Indians are living in poverty. As family incomes have grown, there has been a sustained rise in demand for nutritious food. In some cases, like potato, a sustained increase in production has managed to keep pace with the sustained rise in demand. In most cases, like milk, eggs, pulses and green vegetables, supply has failed to keep pace with demand. That explains why the prices of these nutritious food items have grown so sharply in the last decade or so.
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D P SharanWhile the Congress party has sought action against Vasundhara Raje Scindia's dispensation in BJP-ruled Rajasthan for allegedly allocating hundreds of mines by flouting the set norms, the BJP-ruled state of Jharkhand has been accused of rendering nearly 5,000 jobless for want of mining operations in the state. Consequently, whereas beneficiaries, allegedly enjoying proximity to the powers-that-be in Rajasthan, are facing the possible threat of punitive action for mining operations, the Government of Jharkhand has come under a cloud for its decision to keep the mining operations under suspension that has led to large-scale unemployment and a possible threat of an increase in strength of Naxal outfits active in the area. D P SharanThe Opposition in Rajasthan has knocked on the doors of CAG and CVC to press for their demand for a probe into the improper allocation of 653 mines in the state. It is alleged that the allocation involves a scam of at least Rs 45,000 crore. They have claimed that these mines included a chunk of one lakh hectares of land with a mineral value of Rs 2 lakh crore. The allegation leveled against the Rajasthan Government is that it allocated the mines flouting the set norms that are required to follow auction-mode for the purpose. The Union Government had made the allocation of mining lease through auction blocks made mandatory on October 30, 2014 and reprimanded the state governments to sanction mining leases unless the amendments to the MMDR Act 1957 came into practice. But the Rajasthan Government allegedly allocated 653 mines in haste in clear defiance of the Union Government’s directives in this regard. On the other hand, the Jharkhand Government has cancelled leases to 21 iron-ore mines in Kolhan region of the State. In the light of the recommendations of the Shah Commission that was constituted at the behest of the Supreme Court to probe into illegal mining of iron-ore across the country, the mining lease to 21 iron-ore mines was cancelled in the Kolhan region of the state. The decision not only dealt a blow to mining operations and employment, but it had a major collateral impact on the functioning and employment at factories that depend largely on iron ore for their production and the crusher industries as well. Of the total 1978 crushers -- that also include those of stone-chips -- around 500 iron-ore crushers have been shut down in the area. As per the dossier, about 5,000 people were engaged in these mines, factories and crushers. This hapless workforce has been, unfortunately, left with no option except to fall prey to lucrative offers made by ultras active in the region. If well-placed sources in the intelligence agencies are to be believed, people who lost their jobs for want of mining operations are being lured away by ultras and they are joining outfits in different capacities in lieu of receiving livelihoods. Sources informed that while a few of them had joined naxalite outfits as cadres, others were working in tandem with ultras as sympathisers and informers too. Significantly, the unemployment scenario has also given an impetus to some of the mine-losers to take legal recourse. One of the mine-losers has filed a petition in the Jharkhand High Court seeking directives to reopen his mines in view of large scale losses accrued to him, loss of jobs to people and monetary losses to the state exchequer as well. As per an estimated figure, the government has suffered a loss of about Rs 500 crore due to cancellation of iron-ore mines since August 2014. During the corresponding period of 2013-14 fiscal, the Ggovernment had gained a revenue of Rs 460 crore from iron-ore mines. The Shah Commission is said to have found lessees of all 25 iron-ore mines in the area defaulters for flouting the set norms and recommended cancellation of mining leases to them. Of the total 25 mines, lessees of four mines including m/s Rungta Mines Ltd, m/s Tata Steels Ltd, m/s Vijay Ojha Mines Ltd and m/s Orissa Mines and Minerals Pvt. Ltd were, however, granted permission to continue with their mining operations for reasons best known to the authorities concerned in the state government. To top it all, contrary to such an appalling situation, Jharkhand has recently achieved 3rd rank in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index. The author, D.P. Sharan, is journalist by profession for the past 30 years and has served many national dailies, magazines and channels. He has also been a member at the Central Board of Film Certification, Mumbai under Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India
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The Indian banking system has been historically conservative when it comes to retail payments innovation. The adoption of Internet banking, credit and debit cards, and phone based payment solutions has been gradual. Statistics released by the Reserve Bank in India (RBI) on its website show that India had 571 million debit cards and 21 million credit cards in use in May 2015. The debit card numbers have increased significantly after the government push for the financial inclusion program, Jan Dhan Yojana (JDY) but the use of these instruments remains low. The month of May 2015 saw 726 million debit card and 60 million credit card transactions. The average comes to 1.27 debit card and 2.86 credit card transactions per month. Commensurate with the hard slog in issuing plastic money, banks are still grappling with a cash heavy usage behavior in India. A combination of regulatory and business factors may finally stimulate the Indian payments market, if all the pieces of the puzzle fall together.Indian businesses are fast moving towards a mobile first approach. India has around 300 million Internet users, which leaves a huge market of 1 billion prospects. Of all the new users, 65% achieve Internet access for the first time using a mobile phone, an unusually high figure, germane to India. Compare this to developed countries that have a robust broadband backbone who see only 20%-25% of first time adoption via mobile. India never had the luxury of a great, wired infrastructure, and this may well prove to be a blessing in disguise for a range of consumer based industries, including mobile payments.This mobile driven approach to consumer businesses has already attracted a number of players in the mobile wallet space. This includes a range of players: large telcos, private banks who are ahead on the technology curve, and a number of start-up firms currently burning cash to drive adoption metrics. Large players have claimed a user base of up to 25 million, which is a huge number when compared to outstanding credit cards, a product that has been in the market for over 20 years. So what is driving this change? Mobile wallets are being used not just as a store of value, but also as a loyalty and discounting channel, providing a range of merchant alignments and even e-commerce options. Even if the average wallet balance remains low - leading players report between Rs. 125 and Rs. 200 on average - the product adoption itself seems to be on a much steeper S-curve than the bank driven credit cards were. Right now users are putting these wallets to use for utility and mobile bill payments and charging Direct To Home (DTH) subscriptions. But the possibilities know no bounds, especially with zero offline merchant integration in place today.Another thrust that retail payments are primed to realize over the 2016-2017 time frame, are the banking sector reforms, which the RBI is putting in place. RBI is issuing licenses for new universal banks, new lending banks, and new payment banks in a gradual fashion. Of these, two universal banks started operations in 2015 and 10 new payment bank licenses were granted, expecting operations to launch by the end of 2016. This is a big development for two reasons. First, these new banks - universal or payment - will be highly technology driven. This is already evident by the approach taken by Bandhan Bank and the IDFC Bank. Just a few weeks into their existence, the banks are heavily relying on mobile connectivity to open new accounts and process day-to-day business. Secondly, the payment banks will be governed by strict RBI rules on the float, which they command, and almost all their competitive advantage will be derived by creating a large network of remittance centers, offline merchant payment products, and correspondent business for existing private banks. Given the wafer thin margins by which these banks will be constrained, it will make great business sense for them to adopt mobile payments. In fact cooperation with existing wallet providers or an outright acquisition will be highly featured on a payment bank's launch strategy.Finally, the Finance Ministry is currently considering a proposal to incentivize cashless payments in India via methods such as tax credits and a direct transfer of incentives to users. It is a concerted push for greater adoption, and to make it easier and cheaper for merchants to accept cards. These proposals are currently being drafted and can be expected to surface in the Union Budget for 2016-17, in a few months time. If the users do a see a real benefit via these measures, a whole new set of semi-urban and large rural towns will become the focus of cashless payments activity. The depth and the reach of banks or wallet providers attempting to tap this market will be a function of their mobile friendliness.If we put all these trends together, a big picture emerges for the future. Imagine the scenario in 2020: A farmer from Khandesh, an area rich in cash crops in Maharashtra, may have a Rupay denominated debit card issued by a regional rural bank. Using this card, he can transfer money to his preferred mobile wallet at the start of each month. This farmer can then come to Pune to shop during the festive season without actually carrying either cash or even his debit card. Armed with his mobile phone, he can go the leading apparel shop in the old town to buy new clothes. In turn, the single shop merchant may be accepting cash transfers to his payment bank account, which enables him to remit money to his household in Rajasthan expeditiously. The farmer can scan a QR code at the point of sale and add the payment details to his wallet, which may be connected with this payment bank. In one click after the payee addition, the transaction may be done. The wallet may be able to send SMS notification to the farmer and his wife on pre-configured numbers for the purchase, and the farmer's wife may get instant confirmation that clothes were indeed purchased in Pune. The family may get a credit of 0.2% of the transaction value in their regional rural bank account instantly for using the electronic route.Given the current boundaries and operational restrictions, this sounds farfetched. But it may well be a reality in the not too distant future. Technology is changing the behavior at the edges of retail payments in India right now, and given the convergence of various enabling factors, a tipping point may not be very far off.As with most technology innovations, a large part of the economic surplus generated in this rationalization of payment supply chain will go to the end consumer. This puts a lot of pressure on the commercial banks that today operate under strict RBI oversight in terms of the scope of activity as well as product innovation. They may now be expected to move faster and create new products at different stages of the payment value chain. If not, parts of the chain will be claimed by start-ups with deep funding from venture capital and private equity players. The good news is that most of the private banks have already woken up to this new reality and are already active in the mobile wallet space.The tailwinds disrupting the retail payments business in India are real. The acceleration towards a modern cashless economy will be even more rapid if the regulatory forces combine with market participants to bring about a whole new payments customer experience.Disclaimer: Opinions expressed on this column reflect the writer's views and not the position of the Capgemini GroupThe author, Aashish Chandorkar, is director at Capgemini ConsultingFollow Ashish: @c_aashish and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aashish
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Last Friday’s announcement by the Ministry of Finance exempting income arising out of the display of rough diamonds from the provisions of the IT Act of 1961 will pave the way for the Indian diamond industry to take a significant step towards its goal of becoming a trading centre as well, writes Stephen Rego. November promises to be a milestone month for the Indian diamond industry. It will mark the first time ever that rough diamonds which are being sold on tender will be displayed within the shores of the country to registered potential buyers. The commencement of direct dealings between mining companies and Indian diamantaires within the country itself will help correct one major anomaly in India’s dominant status in the global diamond industry – its inability to complement its position as the world’s largest manufacturing hub by developing as a hub for trading as well. Stephen RegoLast year India purchased nearly US$16 billion worth of rough diamonds i.e. the bulk of rough supplies sold by miners from across the world. Yet, to procure this rough, Indian diamantaires would have to travel to Antwerp, Tel Aviv, Dubai or Hong Kong, or purchase through middlemen, a task that was challenging for small and medium enterprises as it added to their transaction costs. Squeezing of margins due to a global slowdown in demand over the last couple of years only added to their woes. The path for the historic first direct interaction between miners and Indian manufacturers was cleared with a seemingly routine circular issued by the government last week that announced that income from display of uncut diamond (without sorting or sale) within a Special Notified Zone (SNZ) “will not be taxable under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 with effect from April 1, 2015”. When the notification designating the SNZ was issued in May this year, leading mining companies from across the world had all expressed their interest in displaying rough diamonds for sale within the India Diamond Trading Centre (IDTC). However, they had sought certain clarifications from the government on matters related to taxation, procedures and other matters. The main issue – pertaining to IT payable on goods displayed in the country for subsequent sale at other locations – has now been resolved. During the coming month, displays of rough diamonds by different mining companies will commence. The viewing will take place in the IDTC, an area within the premises of the Bharat Diamond Bourse which had been designated as a Special Notified Zone (SNZ) by the government in May this year to allow and facilitate viewing/auction/sale of Rough Diamonds. The IDTC is a SPV set up jointly by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB). The 4,000 square feet hall is divided into 10 viewing rooms and has state-of-the-art security and storage vaults. It also has facilities for receipt, storage, viewing, auctions/sales of imported Rough Diamonds as well as all necessary commercial, security & customs related facilities incidental to these activities. As of now there more than 20 companies included in the permitted list including De Beers, Rio Tinto, Alrosa, Gokhran, BHP Billiton, Endiama, Dominion Diamond Marketing, Namibia Trading Company etc. The concept of such a Zone had first been mooted by the industry a few years ago and been accepted in principle in the Report of the Task Group for Diamond Sector set up by the Ministry of Commerce in 2013. The idea received a huge boost last December when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced approval for the setting up of an SNZ while speaking at the World Diamond Conference in Delhi which was jointly inaugurated by him and visiting Russian Premier Valdimir Putin. The operationalisation of the Zone will be a big boost to the Indian industry’s thrust of consolidating its position in the global diamond industry. India already accounts for over 90% of world polished diamond production by volume and over 70% by value. Indian dominance initially started in the 1970s and 80s due to the ability of its entrepreneurs and artisans to cost-effectively cut and polish tiny diamonds that were earlier considered too small for use in jewellery. However, the industry later moved up the value chain and today there are many companies that manufacture larger sized and fancy shaped diamonds at state-of-the-art facilities that are on par with the best in the world. The commencement of trading in rough diamonds will add another facet to the Indian diamond industry and will one day be seen as a new turning point in its further growth and evolution. Stephen Rego has been a journalist since the mid-1980s, and has spent close to two decades tracking the gem and jewellery industry while holding different editorial positions in industry specific publications and websites
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Sutanu Guru takes a look at the half-hearted measures to clean up Indian cricket No major newspaper or TV channel in India is covering a sensational trial related to cricket that is going on in England. Former New Zealand captain and all rounder Chris Cairns is on trial facing charges of perjury. Very briefly, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had sent out a tweet in 2010 accusing Cairns of being involved in match fixing in India in 2008. Cairns sued Modi and won damages in 2012. But subsequent events suggest that Cairns had lied to the court and is now facing trial for perjury. Just a few days ago, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum told the court in England that his "hero" Cairns had indeed asked him to get involved in match fixing. Some news reports suggest that a half naked girl was once offered as a prize for "under performing" during matches. For a country obsessed with cricket, the complete absence of coverage of this important trial related to corruption and match fixing is quite intriguing in itself. More so when one of the principal characters in Lalit Modi who was headline news for almost one whole month beginning late June. But for a once cricket obsessed fan like this author who now prefers to watch Big Boss rather than the live telecast of a cricket match (involving India; the author still watches test matches involving Australia and South Africa), this reflects how India has dealt with the all pervasive rot in cricket. Two big news items surfaced even as the perjury trial of Cairns was blissfully ignored. First came the news that Pepsi was withdrawing from the IPL because the persistent allegations of match fixing and related scandals had so badly damaged the image of IPL that Pepsi felt its own brand equity will be damaged if continued to be associated with it. Then came news that a Chinese mobile phone company called Vivo would replace Pepsi as the IPL sponsor. This author has never heard of a company called Vivo. And yet, It seems Vivo has agreed to cough up about Rs 180 crores for the privilege of being associated with the IPL for the next two years. In 2012, Pepsi had signed a contract with BCCI to sponsor the IPL for five years at a total cost of about Rs 396 crores. According to news reports, the company had already paid about Rs 210 crores. Now, Vivo will pay the remaining amount for the IPL to be held in 2016 and 2017. Interestingly, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will not be involved the 2016 and 2017 editions of IPL since they have been "suspended" for two years after a committee appointed by the Supreme Court found merit in serious allegations of corruption, conflict of interest and match fixing against key people associated with these teams. Just yesterday, at a high powered meeting, the BCCI decided that it will ask for bids for two new teams who will temporarily replace CSK and RR for two years. Yes, temporarily. According to the BCCI, both CSK and RR will be back in 2018. A cooking sense question is: how does it make sense for an entrepreneur or a company to "temporarily" own two teams for two years? Will they then fade away once RR and CSK come back in 2018? Frankly, nothing about Indian cricket and the angering amounts of money involved in it makes any sense. It seems we in the media seem to have lost the ability to ask even basic common sense questions to people and institutions who claim to be cleaning up the rot in Indian cricket. A sealed envelope containing many "names" accused of corruption and worse in IPL has been submitted to the Supreme Court. But the Court has chosen not to make the names public. Perhaps the Court was if the opinion that revealing the names would unfairly tarnish the image of people against whom allegations have not been proven. Meanwhile, the third T-20 between India and South Africa could not be played at the historic Eden Gardens at Kolkatta because a non functional drainage system ensured that play was not possible at the ground. But hey, cricket is a religion in India. Who cares? This author hopes the Indian media will at least cover the verdict in the perjury trial of Chris Cairns this weekend.
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By Justice Markandey Katju I have been asked my opinion by several people about the recent verdict of the Supreme Court quashing the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Constitutional Amendment Act. The verdict restores the Collegium system created by the judges themselves in the second and third judges cases, which, apart from having no Constitutional basis whatsoever (there is no mention of any Collegium in Article 124 of the Constitution ), has set up a mechanism by which judges appoint judges, a system totally lacking in transparency, as Justice Chalameshwar, the sole dissenting judge, has pointed out in his judgment. Earlier it had been said by Lord Cooke in his article ' Where Angels Fear To Tread ' in which he called it a 'sleight of hand '. The book - 'Supreme but not Infallible by Justice Krishna Iyer is worth reading while Justice Ruma Pal too said the Collegium decisions were often reached by 'trade-offs', i.e.' You agree to my man, and I will agree to yours'). This has often resulted in undeserving persons being appointed. In fact some of the undeserving persons who were appointed as Supreme Court Judges on recommendation of the Collegium, or were recommended by the Collegium but found in the nick of time having committed serious improprieties and so not appointed, were mentioned by name by some counsels during the arguments before the Supreme Court. My own opinion is that it matters little whether we have the NJAC or the collegium system or any other system, as the Indian judiciary is beyond redemption. Consider the facts. In Allahabad High Court (my parent High Court) criminal appeals filed in the High Court in 1985 are coming up for hearing today, that is, after 30 years of being filed. The same is the position regarding civil appeals. Is this a judiciary or a joke? I am informed by Allahabad High Court lawyers that if a case is adjourned after the first date (because the opposite party or government counsel wants to file a reply or for some other reason) the case will never be listed again unless huge bribes are given in the High Court Registry. Similar may be the position in many other High Courts. The present Chief Justice of India, Justice Dattu, said soon after being appointed CJI last year that cases in the Supreme Court would ordinarily be disposed off in 2 years, and criminal trials in 5 years. Almost every CJI makes similar tall claims. Justice Lodha, a former CJI made the unbelievable remark that Judges will work 365 days in a year. There are 33 million cases pending in the law courts of India, and by one estimate even if no new case is instituted it will take 360 years to clear the arrears. While many people talk of clearing the arrears, no one is really serious about it. Arrears, including arrears in the Supreme Court, have kept mounting. When I was in the Supreme Court a bench of which I was a member heard a case in 2007, Moses Wilson vs. Kasturiba (see online) which had been instituted in 1947, that is 60 years after it was filed. Another case, Rajendra Singh (Dead) thru. Lrs. & Ors. Vs. Prem Mai, which was decided by a Bench of the Supreme Court of which I was a member took 50 years to decide finally. It was initiated in 1957 in the trial court, and was finally decided on appeal in 2007 by the Supreme Court. This decision observed: “We may quote a passage from the novel 'Bleak House' written in Charles Dickens' inimitable style: Jarndyce vs Jarndyce drones on. This scarecrow of a suit has, in course of time, become so complicated, that no man alive knows what it means. The parties to it understand it least; but it has been observed that no two Chancery lawyers can talk about it for five minutes, without coming to a total disagreement as to all the premises. Innumerable children have been born into the cause; innumerable young people have married into it; innumerable old people have died out of it. Scores of persons have deliriously found themselves made parties in Jarndyce vs Jarndyce, without knowing how or why; whole families have inherited legendry hatreds with the suit. The little plaintiff or defendant, who was promised a new rocking-horse when Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce should be settled, has grown up, possessed himself of a real horse, and trotted away into the other world. Fair wards of court have faded into mothers and grandmothers; a long procession of Chancellors has come in and gone out; the legion of bills in the suit have been transformed into mere bills of mortality. There are not three Jarndyces left upon the earth perhaps, since old Tom Jarndyce in despair blew his brains out at a coffee house in Chancery Lane; but Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce still drags its dreary length before the court, perennially hopeless. Is this not descriptive of the situation prevailing in India today? " In Allahabad High Court, criminal appeals filed 30 years ago are coming up for hearing today. The lawyer who filed it is usually dead, and the accused in the criminal case is also often dead or untraceable. I am informed that in the Bombay High Court original suits have been pending for 25 years or more. The situation is like that in the case Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce depicted at the beginning of Charles Dickens' novel ' Bleak House '. I doubt whether the lawyer community seriously wants any reform, and as for Supreme Court Judges, they mostly have a term of only a few years to seriously attempt it (despite the tall talk of almost every CJI). A person who gets involved in litigation is usually weeping and crying after some time as date after date (tareekh par tareekh) is given by the Court but the case is not heard. The Allahabad High Court had set a norm that no judge of the subordinate judiciary should have at one time more than 300 cases pending before him. When I was a Judge of the Allahabad High Court a judge of the U.P. subordinate judiciary (the Chief Judicial Magistrate - Kanpur Nagar) came to meet me, and I asked him how many cases were pending in his court alone. He said 30,000. Another subordinate judiciary judge (CJM Ghaziabad) told me he had 21,000). Yet another said 15,000. Now if a man can carry 100 pounds weight but an elephant is put on his head, what will happen? He will collapse. And that is precisely what has happened to the Indian judiciary. And this is apart from the massive corruption which has crept into the Indian judiciary. When I started law practice in the Allahabad High Court in 1971 there was no corrupt judge in the High Court, and perhaps in no High Court in India nor in the Supreme Court (though corruption had started in the lower judiciary). Today my estimate is that about 50 per cent or more of the higher judiciary (High Court and Supreme Court) has become corrupt. Mr Shanti Bhushan, a very senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, and former Union law Minister, had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court several years back stating that half of the previous 16 Chief Justices of India were definitely corrupt (he named them in a sealed envelope which he gave to the Court). He said he was uncertain about 2 more. What difference then will it make whether we have the NJAC or Collegium? So far as the public is concerned? Is it not a difference between Tweedledee and Tweedledum? (Justice Markendey Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court and also held office as the chairman of the Press Council of India)
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