Constitution of India - Where more than one interpretation can be given to Court's order, then benefit has to be given to party against whom contempt is alleged: HC (See 'Legal Desk') SEBI Act - Merely attending board meetings cannot lead to conclusion that appellant is involved in day to day affairs of Company: SAT (See 'Legal Desk') Competition Act - Grievances of Informants like payment of maintenance and electricity charges is in nature of contractual issue and disputes not having any Competition concern: CCI (See 'Legal Desk') India attends G20 Working Group Meeting at Brasilia (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI ICDR Regulations, 2018 - By not locking entire pre-preferential allotment shareholding of two allottees Noticee violated SEBI ICDR Regulations : SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') Arbitration Act - Serving officer of respondent shall act as arbitrator is invalid stipulation which makes it incumbent on Court to appoint independent sole arbitrator to adjudicate disputes : HC (See 'Legal Desk') SEBI Act - Appellant is misleading its investors that it is registered with SEBI as investment advisor and played fraud in violation of IA Regulations : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') CCI okays subscription to CCPS B of API Holdings by MEMG LLP and 360 ONE (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Court will not cancel interim bail granted to respondent as interim bail is about to expire within short period of time : HC (See 'Legal Desk') CCI approves 100% acquisition of Lanco Amarkantak Power by Adani (See 'Corp Brief') CGST Act - Case does not fall under ambit of Anti-Profiteering provisions of CGST Act : CCI (See 'Legal Desk') BRO connects strategic Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road in Ladakh (See 'Corp Brief') Arbitration Act - Any party having failed to make substantive claim in arbitral proceedings, cannot seek recovery by way of interim mandatory injunction u/s 17 : HC (See 'Legal Desk') SEBI Act - Trading pattern of appellants with other noticees indicate that there is meeting of mind between appellants and other noticees : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') SARFAESI Act - Respondent shall not take any coercive steps against Petitioner prior to 15th March, 2024 provided Petitioners file appeal before DRAT on or before March 01, 2024 : HC (See 'Legal Desk') Guj Govt sets up Telecom Facilitation Centre to support stakeholders (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI Act - SEBI shall not initiate any enforcement action against Applicant for SAST violations provided representation made in settlement proceedings are subsequently not found untrue : SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') India, Bhutan ink MoUs on clean energy, agriculture & tourism (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Surgery of knee cannot be categorized as 'life-threatening situation' and surgery which is to be undergone by applicant is not of such nature which necessitates applicant's release on interim bail only : HC (See 'Legal Desk') NCC, NPCIL ink MoU to raise awareness on peaceful use of nuclear power (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - Any violation committed by Company which is fraudulent in nature has to be attributed to individual acting as Director at relevant point of time : SAT (See 'Legal Desk') Golden Jubilee Celebration of KVKs held in Puducherry (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Court declined to grant bail to Satyendar Jain in money laundering case and also cancelled interim bail granted as there are sufficient material collected by ED to show that he is prima facie guilty of alleged offences : SC (See 'Legal Desk') 42nd IPHE Steering Committee to be hosted by EU (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Application filed u/s 7 of code can be admitted as debt and default has been established : NCLT (See 'Legal Desk')

Corporate governance concerns of India Inc

Published: Mar 14, 2017

K Srinivasan, Assistant Commissioner, Chennai

IT certainly is high time that the India Inc took some initiative to restore its lost public image, in the larger national interest. The nation too is made to pay a price when its top businesses and its scions suffer a loss of reputation and clash between them often.

If we are to ask whether the clash comes first or the loss of reputation, it is hard to say which one comes first for it is like asking whether the chicken comes first or the egg. But the fact of the matter is that there can be no smoke without fire.

The ongoing issues of governance in two of India's large and most admired private sector business houses- the Tatas & the Infosys. It should send an alarm to other Indian business to wake up to the call and retrieve the damaged public image of India Inc.

They have all been there, done it in the past. The Tatas and the Birlas, got together with a long-term business and economic development plan for the country and occupied the Centre stage to play the nation building act themselves by example and synergize others into the noble act as well.

A different type of initiative was on in the 90's, when Rahul Bajaj got together with others to form the Bombay Club to take on the economic liberalization impact initiated by the Former PM. Narasimha Rao, at the risk of being called protectionists.

It was not long before the Government itself come forward to confer the nations' highest honor Bharat Ratna on JRD Tata in 1992 followed by H.S. Singhania to be India's first businessman to be appointed ambassador to the US. The late Singhania was unable to assume that office is another thing.

The shocking thing of all this is the latest alleged failures and misappropriation of a larger- than- life personae, Vijay Mallya causing losses to most of the firms that he owned and managed.

This has set up such bad precedence that an explicit tag of identification of them as conman instead of icons of business has come to stay with them for rest of their lives.

In contrast, Ratan Tata and N.R. Narayanmurthy in recent times have managed to put up the Indian tricolor in newer foreign territories of business by building an enviable international reputation and the business footprints they have left will be long-staying to give Brand India its mileage and name in international markets.

What matters most is not the petty quarrels that are going round in Tata-Mistry or Murthy-Sikka quarters but the fact that the organizations that they have come to found are national assets of economic consequence which we badly need to count upon for our economic development.

As an emerging economy, India still has a long way to go to make a mark of its progress in myriad fields of Science, Sports, Culture and business.

All this apart, these scions of business and their behemoths have obligations as larger-than-life personalities and as larger-than-normal business houses to build a national standing by acquitting well before all the investors and the public.

We need to defend and protect zealously the reputation of these large business assets of our country together with its iconic leaders. The organizations are their babies that need the bather water too.

 

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