Begin with ITC. Larsen & Toubro, yes. ICICI and HDFC, yes again.
Like Nehru, Modi is loathe to touch the public sector. His policy towards Israel leans towards 'non-alignment'. You can find other similarities: frequent public speeches, personalised leadership, total control over foreign and strategic policies, even stylised dressing, says Shekhar Gupta.
Cairn, which is sitting on a cash pile of about $3 billion, in a statement said its board has approved buying 17.09 crore shares or 8.9 per cent of the total shareholding, from open market at no more than Rs 335 apiece.
US-based Apollo Global has picked up stake in Indian firms which are not doing that well financially.
Forty years on, ironically, the managerial attention to new businesses has meant almost 40 per cent of revenues now come from the non-tobacco business.
ISB professor Krishnamurthy Subramanian tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com that Modi government's continuation of tax terrorism is driving away investors.
Only three percent of Indians pay income tax; our tax-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world. This must change. Our elites must realise that India's poverty has damaging consequences for them, and that they can help decrease it. The food security bill, with all its limitations, will hopefully contribute to generating such awareness, says Praful Bidwai.
