Who’s who, literally
When the 67 newly elected AAP legislators trooped in for a meeting at Delhi’s Constitution Club on February 10, most mediapersons had no idea who was who, let alone who was an MLA and who a volunteer — until a smart volunteer began yelling out out the name and constituency of each MLA as s/he went by. This came as a huge relief to Delhi scribes used to spotting an MLA from a distance, thanks to the heavy VIP baggage!
Explaining the rationale behind the sale of Maa Television’s Telugu broadcast business to Star India recently, Maa chairman Nimmagadda Prasad said: “It is just like we have children who have to be raised to be made part of another family.’’ Prasad had earlier sold his Matrix Labs to US-based Mylan Inc after making it a profitable company. Is he on the prowl to invest in a new venture? “As long as I have the capacity to produce beautiful ‘daughters’ and marry them off, I will do it,’’ was his response.
Stinky stakeout
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has hit upon a novel way to teach property tax defaulters a lesson. It has decided to raise a stink, literally. The civic body will place garbage-filled bins in front of properties of those who have not paid their taxes. Now, will defaulters put up with the stink and not pay their taxes or cough up? We’ll have to wait and see.
Auction conundrum
After the DoT puts out the guidelines for the spectrum auction it is usual for operators to seek clarifications. On previous occasions, the DoT had given elaborate explanations to queries.
However, for the March auction, the DoT has been dismissive of clarifications, saying the Notice Inviting Application was self-explanatory. This has left telecom companies in a quandary. How will they bid thousands of crores without clarity? “This reminds me of my third grade teacher who used to tell us to read up ourselves if she didn’t know the answer,” quipped an operator.
Welcome to Menlo Park
Menlo Park in Silicon Valley has signed a twin-city agreement with Kochi to “initiate various information-sharing opportunities and exchanges in terms of business, education, culture and economy”. The focus will be to promote IT startups in Kochi and facilitate US tech firms’ operations there.
Catching the PM’s eye
Aero India is all set to open this week with Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to inaugurate it. This is a departure from earlier shows when the defence minister was chief guest. But with almost all companies pitching for contracts on the ‘Make in India’ platform, it seems natural for the Prime Minister to be present at the event.
But what he won’t do is fly in a Rafale fighter jet, something the French were hoping he would as it would mean giving a nod to the $20 billion deal.
In sync with tech
The power point presentation-heavy and boring stalls showcasing company products at the annual event held by Nasscom in Mumbai finally saw something different. The inaugural speech had a camera-fitted drone flying above the audience. Drones also recorded interviews of presenters, prompting participants to comment that finally, the Indian software industry was in sync with the world.
Unaccountably badly behaved
CAs are generally considered a disciplined lot, but their behaviour at the CA Institute’s annual functions in recent years tell a different story. If it was Kapil Sibal who bore the brunt last year, this time it was Power Minister Piyush Goyal who had to put up with awkward moments. Many chartered accountants and regional council members were so overwhelmed on receiving awards from Goyal, that they refused to leave the stage. They took their time taking selfies and group photos despite the compere’s entreaties to make way for others. Goyal — who is a member of the CA fraternity — later said he would have preferred some sanity during the event.
Stark contrast
The TN government kicked off its global investors’ meet publicity campaign with a drab curtain-raiser in Chennai. The modest turnout at the unusually non-glitzy event was a poor match for the high profile line-up on stage featuring the chiefs of Mahindra & Mahindra, Renault Nissan, Saint Gobain, the Murugappa Group, TVS and Cognizant Technology Solutions.