Accountancy
One stroke, two dead
THE Company Law Board (CLB) was always, technically, a tribunal. A proposal to rechristen it formally as a tribunal and clothe it with more authority was made in clauses 416 to 423 (Part XI) of the Companies Bill, 1997. Clause 422 of the Bill sought to p
rovide the Company Law Tribunal (CLT) with the jurisdiction and authority to take the necessary action in respect of `contempt', as wielded by the High Courts. There was, however, no intention to divest the High Courts of their non-writ jurisdiction unde
r the provisions of the Companies Act; nor did it appear to have occurred to the Government earlier, to vest the Tribunal with a national status or appellation, whatever it may mean.
Rid the interference
N. R. Moorthy says it is time the UTI Act was amended to build in more accountability.
Blindspot
CHARTERED accountants `in industry' -- the ICAIspeak for CAs who don't practise -- are a discriminated lot. It is usually the big brother group -- CAs in practice -- that takes all the goodies and leaves little for the members labouring under the yoke of
employment.
Automobiles
`We want to grow the Ford family' -- Mr David E. Friedman, MD and President, Ford India
FOR the 39-year-old Mr David E. Friedman, the transition from Vice-President, Finance and Systems, Ford India, to its President and Managing Director, comes at a time when the company is faced with flat domestic car sales and when it is readying to launc
h its luxury sedan, Mondeo. Mr Friedman is no stranger to the Indian market, having been with Ford India since end-1998, after stints in other Ford plants worldwide. He spoke to Business Line of the company's operations, the prospects for Mondeo, and the
automobile industry, in general.
Economy
Why `coarse' treatment for some farmers?
TRADITIONALLY, it has been the Punjab farmers who have always had the ear of the Government. Minimum support prices for wheat and rice have been raised year upon year, almost routinely. This year even though there was no change in the cost of cultivation
to warrant a mark-up in the procurement price, the Government bowed to demands of the Punjab lobby to grant a token increase.
Exaggerated fears for India
FEARS are looming large over the fate of Indian economy as the fallout from the attacks on the World Trade Centre is likely to affect the world economy. To compound these problems, just a week before the attack, India was warned of a gloomy fiscal. The r
eason -- the US is India's largest trading partner and largest foreign investor in India.
Editorial
Draw the line
THE ANNUAL RITUAL of private sector players missing the village public telephony (VPT) targets and the threats of strong action by the Government (represented by the Department of Telecommunications), if targets were not met, has begun. Except that this
year, the Government, which had taken a lenient view of missed VPT targets, has decided to enforce strict penalties and even threatened to terminate the licences of the private service providers, if the mid-October deadline of VPT commitments are not met
.
Radio/TV
The week that was horror
ONE week on, as the world waits to see what the US will do next, the shock and horror are giving way to words of caution. Should US allies provide unstinted cooperation, whatever President George W. Bush may decide to do? Should this become a battle agai
nst Islamic forces worldwide, or focus on flushing out one man who has committed un-Islamic acts in the name of religion?
Stocks
Stock market: Has it bottomed out?
FOR several months now, when the values of most of the stocks on the exchanges have been declining steadily, our fund managers, analysts and investment advisors have been advising retail investors that the markets have bottomed out and that this is the b
est time to enter the markets for bargain hunting. When making an assessment of the status of our market which is now almost fully integrated with the rest of the world, the effects of the external environment would have to be taken into account, especia
lly when markets around the world have been on a free fall during the past several months. Only the most daring optimist would venture out on new investments in these conditions.
