Unwarranted

What could possibly go wrong for the Indian IT sector? The arrest and release, after several days under detention, of Polaris Software Lab c...

What could possibly go wrong for the Indian IT sector? The arrest and release, after several days under detention, of Polaris Software Lab chairman and CEO, Arun Jain, is a blow out of nowhere.

The giant mess-up, whether unwarranted or not, will hit the IT sector badly as Polaris is one of the key players in the Indian IT sector. It will definitely have a global fallout on the sector. One only has to wait and see how and when.

But Jain must have learnt a unforgettable tycoon lesson on how vital it is to know, rather intimately, who you are doing business with. Jain had signed agreements with Bank Artha Graha. This agreement was subsequently terminated and Jain had dashed off to Jakarta, to sort out the issue. What Jain did not realise was that because the Bank is co-owned by the Indonesian Army Foundation, it could mobilise police action as and when required.

When Jain entered the Bank with his executives, not only was he not allowed to leave the premises he was then arrested by the Indonesian police. And the rest is now corporate history. So much for customer intimacy.

Vulture Capitalist

The Sarda takeover of Bhilwara is fizzling out. The open offer they made was so carefully structured, that it looked like they had lost heart even before the closing whistle was blown. Given that the rattled Jhunjhunwalas who run Bhilwara, are also distantly related to the raiding Sardas, an off-site deal would be difficult to rule out.

Creeping acquisitions and the subsequent drama of an open after were all however based on Sardar8217;s mountain of cash. That is now still intact. And the biggest bonus is that now the shadowy Sarda will be treated as a serious vulture capitalist. Welcome to India8217;s newest tycoon club.

Playing with big boys

Sanjay Dalmia have been lying low for a while, but that8217;s about to change very soon. It seems Sanjay is planning a shake-up of the corporate world as a result of his latest venture. Not revealing what the venture is, other than to say that it is a new 8220;consumer8221; project, Sanjay is trying to pull the big talents of Indian industry into his playground.

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Sudershan Banerjee, CEO of Hutch, is believed to be joining as CEO of Dalmia8217;s venture. Kartik Raina, CEO of Dr Morepen is also supposed to be coming on board as COO. Guess we8217;ll have to wait for a while before we receive any confirmation on whether or not these industry movements finally take place or not.

Dalmia has made news whether its via the herbal medicines he touts to enhance memory or his run in with German disinvestment authorities. But one can hope that this venture, will turn out to be a success story if the talent he is assembling, actually joins up.

Khaitan8217;s sweet tooth

It is not just Bangla babus who savour the taste of rosogulla. Deepak Khaitan Managing Director of Eveready Industries is reportedly so fond of the stuff that his meal is incomplete unless there is the Rosogulla from Kolkata8217;s Chittaranjan Sweets.

This 95-year-old sweet shop has a huge fan following apart from Khaitan even though the sweets here are priced higher than those of other sweet shops in the city. Deepak it is learnt will not have rosogullas from any other sweet shop in the city as the difference between them is like chalk and cheese or rather like the comparison between a Maruti and a Mercedes.

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So clearly whether it is horses his other passion on which more later or rosogullas, Deepak Khaitan ensures he has the best.

Dilip Cherian, runs a public affairs firm Perfect Relations. He is an economy watcher and tycoon tracker. None of the people he writes about are his clients. Your insider tales are welcome at dilipcheriannow-india.net.in