Given Chennai’s experience of getting marooned during monsoon and unseasonal rains, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) this time is preparing in advance to handle any eventualities as the city usually receives heavy rain in November and December.

It has procured two boats to be used in a particular zone (Zone 4) and has been working on rainwater drains. GCC said it is preparing itself to tackle situations in the event of heavy rains in the city.

‘Closure Commission’

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has slammed the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for its “lackadaisical” approach in handling complaints against Amazon and Flipkart, dubbing it the ‘Closure Commission of India’ in a scathing complaint to the Finance Minister. This despite the fact that the regulator under its current chief Ravneet Kaur has laid solid foundation to operationalise the recent reforms to competition law, by framing futuristic regulations. The regulator, however, has earned the ire of not just start-ups, who first cried foul over the CCI’s sluggish handling of complaints against Google, but now traders as well.

With the Public Accounts Committee already laying the groundwork for its detailed performance review, the regulator is heading into turbulent times, with the Government already keeping a tight vigil over its working.

“The distance between Closure Commission and Closed Commission is very thin”, rued a competition law practitioner preparing to diversify practice into other areas of law, with diminishing returns from competition law practice.

Back to Ooru

In a meeting of representatives from IT sector in coastal Karnataka this week, the MP from Dakshina Kannada, Capt Brijesh Chowta, highlighted his vision for the sector.

One among them is ‘Back to Ooru’ concept — (Ooru is native place in Kannada). He said coastal Karnataka region has produced many entrepreneurs, and some of them are doing well in other parts of the country.

He aims to encourage them to set up their units in their native region also. He expressed his desire to act as an enabler for the growth of IT sector in coastal Karnataka. Capt Chowta said the region has a good talent pool and better infrastructure for the IT sector.

Retirement planning

At the recent Pension Diwas event in the Capital, Chief Economic Advisor Anantha Nageswaran dropped a nugget of wisdom that’s as practical as it is clever.

Pointing to the walking stick symbol in the PFRDA logo, he remarked that while the walking stick represents retirement, to enjoy those years, you have to start when you’re still in your jogging shoes! His message was crystal clear: the earlier you begin planning, the better your post-retirement life will be.

But here’s the fun twist — despite this thoughtful analogy, the CEA admitted that it was the first time he even noticed the walking stick in the logo! Just goes to show, sometimes the most important things are hiding in plain sight — just like your retirement plan!