People Business

Reforms Back on Track

After over a decade of slow progress, hurdles and numerous efforts of different Union Finance Ministers, Arun Jaitley takes the credit for unveiling one of the biggest economic reforms - Goods and Services Tax (GST) - since Independence. "This is one of the most significant tax reforms in Indian history," Jaitley said while introducing the GST Bill, officially known as The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill, 2014, in the Rajya Sabha. GST will make the country a uniform economic market with a single tax rate subsuming all the complicated indirect taxes. The uniform tax across the country is not only likely to boost the economy but also the Modi government's reform agenda.

Read More

Nimesh Calls It a Day

Marquee investment banker Nimesh Kampani has decided to hang up his boots and give the charge of JM Financial Group to his 39-year-old son Vishal Kampani after three decades of deal making. Nimesh, founder-chairman of the group launched in 1973, announced his retirement from the post of Chairman & MD with effect from September 30 but will continue as non-executive chairman of the company. Nimesh, who turns 70 in September, has a long list of accomplishments including launching TCS and Bharti's IPO, government's stake sale in ONGC, L&T cement business sale to Aditya Birla Group, BPL-Essar deal, Bajaj Auto demerger, division of Reliance Industries between Ambani brothers and so on. Commenting on his retirement, Nimesh said in a statement: "I believe it is important for all businesses to implement a proper succession plan and I am committed to follow the same."

Change of Guard?

ITC veteran Sanjiv Puri has been elevated to the post of Chief Operating Officer of the Rs 39,427-crore (FY16 consolidated revenues) cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate. The post, a new one, gives Puri full responsibility for the day-to-day functioning of the company. The move is significant, given that Chairman Y.C. Deveshwar, who transformed a largely cigarette-making company into a huge, diversified conglomerate with interests from FMCG to hotels, is scheduled to become the non-executive chairman next February. Prior to taking over as COO Puri - who has been with the company since 1986 - was heading the company's FMCG, paperboards, paper & packaging, and agri-businesses. 

Battleground India

Another American company has quit China. After Google, Facebook and Amazon, it's the turn of Uber to follow suit. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing app announced a $35-billion merger deal with China's Didi Chuxing to end its difficult journey in the country. After losing China, like Amazon, Uber is now likely to shift its focus to the next important market - India, a billion-plus market it cannot afford to lose. On his trip to India last year, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick had announced plans to invest $1billion in the country and its loss in China could mean that the company may go all out to win the battle against Indian rival Ola.Adding Heft

Binny Bansal, CEO, Flipkart (Photo: Nilotpal Baruah)

E-commerce major Flipkart pipped competitors like Snapdeal and Future Retail to acquire fashion portal Jabong in one of the biggest merger deals in Indian e-commerce industry. It's a cash deal of $70 million (approximately Rs 471 crore). This is Flipkart's second biggest acquisition after it bought another fashion website Myntra two years ago, which was the biggest e-commerce deal at the time. Speaking on the Jabong acquisition, Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal, in a letter to employees, said: "I am happy to inform that our group company, Myntra, today acquired Jabong from Global Fashion Group, thus creating India's biggest fashion shopping destination. Myntra and Jabong are all set to define the next generation of online shopping offering the best of brands to Indian consumers."