The Manmohan Singh-led Government’s four years have been embroiled in some scam or the other, but what really affects work in some key Ministries, say political observers, is the ‘revolving door’ syndrome. Here’s the latest head count. Since May 2009, the Railway Ministry has seen Mamata Banerjee, Dinesh Trivedi, Mukul Roy, C.P. Joshi, P.K. Bansal and C.P. Joshi once again. The Civil Aviation Ministry went from Praful Patel to Vayalar Ravi to Ajit Singh, and the Oil Ministry, which first had Murli Deora at the helm went to Jaipal Reddy and has now landed with Veerappa Moily.
Still in the works
The fact that the Companies Bill 2012 did not get Parliament approval in the just concluded Budget session caused a lot of angst among different sections. While the Chartered Accountants fraternity was seemingly elated, the brotherhood of Company Secretaries was definitely disappointed.
The reason is not far to see. The Companies Bill proposed setting up a National Financial Reporting Authority which could well have sounded the death knell for the CA Institute, whose reputation has taken a beating in recent years. As for the Company Secretaries, the Companies Bill had certain provisions which would have catapulted the low profile profession into a new league and counted them as part of key managerial personnel.But all is not lost. The Companies Bill may still get enacted into law in the monsoon session, say some optimists. India has been looking to enact a new Companies Act for more than 15 years now. Better late than never.
Nano traction
Greaves Cotton christened its recently launched 12 hp mini tractor ‘Ustad’, meaning expert or maestro. The company is a supplier of engines to auto majors such as Tata Motors.
The tractor is an entry-level product targeted at small and marginal farmers with land holding of 3-5 acres. Interestingly, the Ustad also appears to be looked upon as the Nano of the Greaves Cotton stable or at least that is the way Sunil Pahilajani, Managing Director of Greaves Cotton, chose to articulate it. Asked if the CNG engine being developed for Tata Motors had anything to do with the Nano, he said: “No. Our Ustad is the Nano for us right now.”
Chit of a scam
The Saradha scam has had a fall-out on invitations. VIPs and ministers have become hesitant to attend functions in West Bengal. One top-ranking minister is said to have asked his PA as well as department officers to demand from the hosts in writing that they do not have any money collection schemes and are not chit funds. PAs have also been asked to do a thorough background check of companies before invitations are accepted. And to think that only a few months ago, ministers were jostling for stage space, never mind where.
Not a Chit Fund
One of the biggest problems that the Saradha scam has thrown up is the word “chit fund”. Deposit-taking companies or Ponzi schemes are being alternatively referred to as chit funds in some vernacular media and TV channels. Some of the politicians too have generalised money collection schemes into chit funds. An industry body, recently, had to make the distinction clear to ensure that legalised chit funds or registered funds are not impacted.
While chit funds are regulated by legislation and are registered entities, the Saradha group outfits were money collecting or deposit taking companies.
Cycle track
As the debate over introducing cycle tracks in Chennai continues, a conversation with one of the top officials associated with the proposal came to mind. At that time the official was sceptical about the whole idea. “Where is the space for cycles on the roads?” he wanted to know. To the question that if there is space for fuel-guzzling vehicles, should not space be created for a people- and environment-friendly mode of transport, he replied, “Sure, but who uses them, these days?” If any do, look at the traffic conditions. They better get themselves a good insurance, he quipped.
Swinging the top job
It pays to network. The new Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah may have extracted a promise from Sonia Gandhi when he joined the Congress that he should be rewarded at an appropriate time.
But he didn’t just leave it at that. He started cultivating all the right people in the Congress High Command since then. Therefore, when the time came to pick the man for the top job in Karnataka, a good word from the likes of Ahmed Patel and Oscar Fernandes swung the decision in Siddaramaiah’s favour. You might think the new CM is rough on the edges, but he sure knows whom to keep in good humour.
Tailpiece
Next, pay for complaining as well?
The domestic airline industry seems to care nothing about the diktats from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. How else can one explain the attitude of the industry, which has decided to charge for a host of services including preferential seating and check-in baggage, but conveniently overlooked the Ministry order that the fee increases need to be prominently displayed and made public? Journalists were burning the wires to figure out who was increasing which charge and by when and by how much. One can only hope that passengers do not need to run from counter to counter when they travel.