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Journalism of Courage
Barely had Sebi chairman G.N. Bajpai told a television channel that anybody officials from union ministries who dealt with price-sensitive information, would have to 8216;obey the rules8217;, and there was another violation.
The chairman of National Fertilisers Ltd NFL, a company whose shares are soon to be divested by government, was seen busy talking down the price of his scrip by telling CNBC on the same day that the government8217;s 51 per cent stake was not worth more than a Rs 1,000 crore, implying that the market price was unjustified.
Star trouble
Rupert Murdoch8217;s Star TV has quickly cobbled together an India company called Media Content and Communication Services Ltd MCCS to meet government regulations that require 74 per cent of its ownership to be Indian.
But when it comes to staffing the fledgling organisation, the broadcasting MNC is facing some star troubles. Apparently, top executives and journalists, including the channel chief Ravina Kohli are unhappy about having to quit Star and become employees of MCCS.
They are worried that being employees of the Indian outfit rather than the media multinational may gradually lead to a change in salaries, perks and other benefits. Media watchers are waiting to see how this internal battle pans out.
Hungama time
Reliance Infocomm may have finally hit bulls-eye with its Monsoon Hungama offer. The scheme, which allows people to walk away with a mobile phone and connection for just Rs 501, has created a storm and the grapevine says that it has already sold 6.5 lakh phones.
The company however is acting coy and refuses to disclose numbers. It has also checkmated the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Trai, which was at pains to keep the competitors viable by blocking what it called 8216;predatory pricing8217; by Reliance, and depriving consumers of lower phone tariffs.
The drastic reduction in the cost of going mobile has seen a host of small businessmen, traders, carpenters, salespersons and even vegetable vendors snapping up the phone.
Checkmating Trai
Reliance8217;s hungama has put the competition in a tizzy. Rivals are busy drawing up comparison tables to show that the offer is either not so hot, or could be axed by the regulator for violating rules.
The Trai went into a huddle on Friday to examine if charges of violation of rules were true, but didn8217;t come up with anything substantial. Reliance has followed Trai8217;s tariff regulations, but has lowered the entry barrier by virtually giving away the phones for free and with a Rs 200 charge per month covering insurance and privileges, that may also cover the hand-set cost over time.
The crux of the offer is that a company with deep pockets is taking the risk by giving away expensive handsets. Corporate circles say that Reliance was already committed to buy the handsets at hugely discounted prices, and by holding on to them for much longer, it risks obsolescence. However, the company is silent about this too.
Conflict of interest?
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ICAI imposes several restrictions on the conduct of Chartered Accountants and bars them from advertising, soliciting business and under-cutting rivals.
Naturally, the standards demanded of ICAI8217;s president are those expected from Caesar8217;s wife, especially since the ICAI conducts the examination for CAs. It so happens that the current president of ICAI or his wife also runs Prime Academy, a well-recognised coaching institution for CA students at Chennai. Does this pose a huge conflict of interest? Well, scores of CAs certainly seem to think so. They have written several letters to top bureaucrats at the DCA to draw attention to their concerns. So far, the regulator has not reacted. At the same time, sympathisers of the president say that there is no violation of rules and no misuse of authority. Is that correct? Only an inquiry by the DCA can decide the issue.
TAILPIECE: By definition, a lottery is clearly a game of chance, but when on-line lottery8217;s masquerade as a news bulletin and invite people to 8216;invest8217; in them, who regulates its advertising? The Advertising Standards Council will take note of the problem only if someone complains. And if it doesn8217;t bother, who regulates such advertisements?
E-mail Sucheta Dalal
