Different Strokes

Nothing to declare When Oscar Wilde was asked by a US Customs official if he had anything to declare, he replied, nothing except my tale...

Nothing to declare

When Oscar Wilde was asked by a US Customs official if he had anything to declare, he replied, nothing except my talent8217;. Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. has done even better. It has declared 8230; well, nothing! The company published its results for the quarter ended December 1998 in Business Standard January 28, page 3, in the form of a standard results advertisement. It was complete in every way 8212; the address, the full year results, the date and the purported signature of its executive director. But wait a minute; the column which was to contain the financial numbers of the relevant quarter had nothing 8212; it was simply blank. But even had the column not been blank, it was by no means an adequate declaration. A high profile investment banker who is such a trenchant and articulate critic of government and its governance, is surely expected to match other companies in providing comparisons with previous quarters, if not set an example by disclosing more.

How opinionsdiffer

Justice Variava8217;s trenchant comments often annihilate Bhupinder Kumar in the special court when he represents the CBI. In fact, in the Standard Chartered case the CBI was repeatedly pulled up by the judge for not going after the top brass and collecting enough evidence. But look at how different things are when seen from another angle. The big bosses of the CBI have found DSP Kumar 8216;s work most praiseworthy and got the President8217;s police medal for meritorious service on Republic Day. Clearly his bosses see something that the special court has failed to notice in six years of the securities scam trial.

Bailout is our birthright

The finance minister8217;s advisor has a curious way of looking at things. Mohan Guruswamy, who is pushing hard to bail out the Essar group and has vowed to bail out other steel companies, is mixing up financial institutions FIs with government, and private companies8217; defaults with sovereign ones. The FIs who he is arm-twisting into bailing out Essar and othersare not arms of government. They are listed companies and answerable to their shareholders the FIs share prices reflect the shareholders opinions of the state of these institutions. If Guruswamy does not back off , he will soon be working on bail-out packages for the institutions themselves. They may even have to set up yet another committee headed by Deepak Parekh to work out the modalities. Incidentally, FIs may ask companies to hive off or re-focus their businesses, but unless this happens before fresh funds are doled out, nothing is going to come out of it. They will simply not find buyers.

Not for a month

While on Parekh, one hears that his committee8217;s report on UTI is going to remain on ice for a while. Apparently, its too hot to be made public just yet. On the other hand, someone who ought to know said 8212; UTI has got to be bailed out, either by the tax payer or the government. My bet is that they will both have to do it. The tax payers money which will be paid and the government willhand it over.

Answers from God

Advertising and theatre circles know him as God, and the galaxy of the stars who worked with him and gathered to honour him on the launch of his book 8212; A Double Life 8212; lost no opportunity to rib him about it. Interestingly, it is the last page of his book which shows why Alyque Padamsee made it to the pinnacle of Indian advertising. With a shrewd eye to all those young people who are bound to be fascinated by the vignettes of his colourful life, he makes an amazing offer. He offers to answer questions on advertising and theatre to all those who fill out a form on the last page. Answers from God ! How much better can it get ?

The author8217;s e-mail address is: suchetadalalyahoo.com