STRIP ALL TITLES

The startling revelation by the one of the greatest of player of tennis, that he was using recreational drug, crystal methamphetamine, popularly known as ‘speed’ in hey days, has shocked the tennis fans across the world. More startling was, that the governing body of ATP relied on the statement of Agassi overlooking the findings of the doctor in the drug test. The ATP should strip all the titles won by Agassi, ban him for life from associating himself with tennis any capacity. No one is bigger than the game.

CHANGE OF TRACK

The article by R. Jagannathan, Brand Man Mohan rising (DNA 29-10-09) was interesting for the reason that the same author had wrote as early as in April -09 that Dr. Singh is un worthy the title – India’s best known reformer and the Congress deserve to lose in the current (LS) election. The author has also criticized the performance of Dr. Singh during 2004-09 as very poor. Dr. Singh has not made any dramatic changes in the programme and policies since then, the UPA-2 is just perusing and implementing its policies in a systematic manner. Dr. Singh is the most respected politician any where in the world. His brand was never down and will never be down.

UN IMAGINATIVE CAPTAINCY

Ricky Ponting, after winning the all important toss, chose to field first on a placid, high scoring pitch in Nagpur for surprise of every one. Knowing that the services of his prime strike bowler are not available, one wonders what made Ponting to field first on an excellent batting pitch. Expect for getting the wicket of Tendulkar early, nothing went right for Assies. Indian batsmen scored runs at will. Suresh Raina and Sewag contributed runs at very good strike rate. Dhoni led the team from front and scored a match winning century. Chasing 350 odd runs by any team on any pitch is not easy. Assies lost wickets in quick session. There were no partnerships. There was need for a cameo innings from some one like M.Jhonsen. Ahead of him Ponting sent the inexperienced Voges, Shuan Marsh, knowing well the cameo innings Jhonsen is capable of. He was sent in after the fall of five wickets, with only 12-13 over remaining to do the impossible. It appears Ponting wrong judgment might have cost them the match.

CONGRESS SHOULD CHOOSE ITS ALLY CAREFULLY

For the forthcoming election in Jharkhand, scheduled for December, the Congress should choose its ally carefully. Leaders with criminal records and leaders with charges of corruption should be kept out of pre-poll alliance/any alliance. Voters are interested in good governance, stability, communal harmony and development. Jharkand which is in rich in natural resources is one of the most backward states in the country. However, the previous governments, for various reasons could not exploit this strength to the maximum, developmental activities were minimal. A strong, stable government with focus on development will take the state to greater heights. The situation is tailor made for Congress.

BJP NEEDS BOTH

The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is right in suggesting that BJP needs either surgery or chemotherapy and they themselves should decide what they need (DNA 28-10-09). I think BJP needs both, for complete over haul and image make over. The performance of the party under the leadership of Rajnath Singh as the party president is very un impressive. The party has lost miserably in the Lok Sahha elections and its performance in the three states that went election this month is lackluster. The party’s image took a severe beating in Jaswant Singh episode. The internal bickering, indiscipline (Raje’s defiance in Rajasthan and Reddy brothers’ behavior in Karnataka, among others) makes mockery of the so called cadre based and disciplined party, a laughing stock. Rajnath Singh remarked Bhawat’s suggestion as mad. Only time will who is mad. But there is urgent need for change of the leadership at the highest level with people who are young, dynamic and has vision to attract the masses.

RIGHT MEDICINE

The RBI, in its credit policy review, has increased the requirement of SLR by 100 basis point to 25%. The other key rates, including CRR, REPO and reserve REPO rates kept unchanged. The RBI has rightly tightened the provisioning norms for NPAs. The reality sector which was expecting some favorable policy decision been disappointed. This kind of independent, pragmatic policy measures taken by RBI has saved the country from financial melt down as experienced by some Western countries during the last year. And it so no surprise that RBI has been hailed as one the best regulator in the world.

WRONG ALLEGATIONS

APPEARED IN DNA MUMBAI ON 28-10-09


The allegation by Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik that India is funding Taliban (DNA 27-10-09) is a joke. The whole world knows that the Taliban is creation of establishment in Pak to wage proxy war against India. It is continuously nurtured and funded by the successive governments of Pak. When things are going out of control, (the recent series of bomb attacks by extremists there) the Establishment has chosen the wildest improbable to blame India for existence of Taliban.

OZ IS NOT SAFE

Cricket fans love Gilchrist. The way he demolishes the bowlers of his opposite side. The way he can single handedly win matches and the way he can bring victory from the jaws of defeat for his side. The gentlemanly behavior on the field. That is cricket. But his assertion in Pune that OZ is still safe for students is not correct. He has termed the incidents as generic and could happen anywhere. The problem is not generic, it is the attitude and mind set of the people. The series of racial attacks on Indian students in Australia are appalling to say, the least. The students have been attacked without any provocation. It is indication of growing frustration and non-tolerant attitude of Australians against India which is emerging as a powerful economy. Equal or number of Indian students go to USA for studies. No such problems in America. As good will ambassadors, Australian cricketers must put pressure on their government to take preventive action in this respect. Advice to Indian students – chose Australia as a lost resort for higher education, since some of the Universities there are fake and it is an unsafe destination.

MNS: A MAJOR OPPOSITION PARTY IN 2014

Contrary to the expectations of Shiv Sena and BJP, Raj’s MNS has performed remarkably in the recently concluded assembly elections in Maharastra. MNS has made strong in roads into the Sena bastions in the cities of Mumbai, Thana, Nashik and pune. Apart from securing 13 seats they came second and third in many constituencies. Again this is a very credible performance for a three year old party. Raj Thackeray has the knack of connecting himself with the voters, particularly the young ones who matter most in the elections. His party promises to solve the problem related to migration, slum rehabilitation, power shortage, encroachment and host of other civic problems. MNS appears to be sincere in finding solutions to the above perennial problems. MNS is likely to be a major player in Maharastra politics in the years to come. Considering the progress they have achieved in a very short period, they are likely to garner lion’s share of seats in the Municipal/Civic elections in the above cities, as and when election are held. And it will not be a surprise if they emerge as a major opposition party/power player in the 2014 assembly elections.

IPO WATCH: DEN NET WORKS LIMITED

GROSSLY OVER PRICED – AVOID SUBSCRIPTION


Den networks limited is entering the capital market with public issue of 20,000,000 equity shares of Rs10 each in the price band of Rs 195-205. The company intends to raise around Rs 400 crores from the issue. The issue is slated to open on 28-10-09 and closes on 30-10-09. Deutsche Equities India and Antique Capital markets are the BRLMs.

The company is promoted by Sameer Manchanda and Lucid systems pvt. Limited.
The funds raised will be utilized for company’s cable television and infrastructure services, for acquisition of content and broad casting rights and for general purposes including part repayment of existing loans. The project has not been appraised by any bank or financial institution.

The company’s revenue growth heavily dependent on conversion of analog cable subscribers to become digital cable subscribers, in the highly competitive Television distribution industry. Also the company has limited experience in Broad band cable internet services, the other segment which it is interested.

The company has no track record of profitability, dividend payment. It has reported losses for the years 2008 and 2009 and had negative cash flows. The company also is heavily indebted. The average cost of acquisition of shares by promoters - Lucid systms and Sameer Manchanda is Rs 0.40 and Rs 8.80 respectively.

Neither the company’s past track record nor future business prospects justifies the very high premium on shares.

GROSSLY OVER PRICED. AVOID SUBSCRIPTION

WRONG SELECTION

Vinod Kambli has lost the assembly election from Vikhroli, Mumbai. He has lost his deposit too. Unlike his peers N S Siddhu, Mohd. Azaruddin, KAMBLI chose a wrong party to make his political debut. Very few know his party –Lok Bharati. Party and symbol are most important in an election. He is not that popular like SHARUKH KHAN, AMITAB OR SACHIN TENDULKAR to contest on any party ticket and get elected. Politics is a long term game. If he is serious about his chosen line, he should connect himself with the voters of his constituency and work sincerely in finding solutions to the chronic problems faced by the citizens of the constituency. He should try to associate with a national or a strong local party and try to build his political career slowly.

SILLY BJP STATEMENT

APPEARED IN DNA MUMBAI ON 24-10-09


The reaction of Abbas Naqvi, senior leader of BJP to the out come of results of assembly results of the three states terming EVMs as electronic victory machines for Congress is unfortunate. It appears that statement has come out of sheer frustration. The BJP, as expected had fared very badly in the election because of loss of image at the national level, infighting and lack of leadership at state level. Instead of accepting the defeat gracefully and introspect on the same our BJP leader has chosen the blame the EVMs.Modi in Gujarat, Chauvan in M P and B S Yediyurappa in Karnataka all rode back to power and the same EVMs were used in those elections also. Why Naqvi did not raised this issue at that time. People of this country are not that fools to buy his story.
It is time for BJP to re-think on its programme, policies, ideology and strategy if it wants stay as an alternative to the Congress party.

POSER TO AMBANIS

The fighting between Ambani brothers has been termed by the country’s apex court as countries at war. Here is a poser to Ambanis – Had there been no split in the family, whether Mukesh’s RIL still had taken the same decision of increasing the gas price from $ 2.34 per mmbtu to $ 4.20 per mmbtu for supply of gas to RNRL and whether Anil would have opposed the move as he has done now. The answer to both, probably – no. Then what is that they are fighting. Their respective counsels should enlighten the public and the share holders of the above companies in this regard.

IT HAPPENS ….. SOMETIMES

The detention of Parvez Rasool, cricketer from J and K by Bengaluru city police has made out as over-zealousness and incompetence. (DNA 21-10-09 Nano edit - Not cricket at all) The track records of Bengaluru police in nabbing terrorists are excellent. The integrity, sincerity and efficiency of the police force, particularly the present police commissioner Shankar Bidri can not be questioned. It happened because of faulty functioning of the machine or just human failure. There are thousands and thousands of Kashmiris living in the city of Bengaluru and they are not subjected to this kind of detention. Security is a serious issue, and such thing happens in routine check –up and it can happen to any one. One should not read too much into it and blame the entire force as incompetent.

PREVENTIVE ACTION NEEDED

The crime branch of Mumbai police should be congratulated for nabbing M Y Kadam and D Tulaskar who are accused of duping more than 2000 investors of Rs 6 crore plus. ( Duo dupes 2000 investors DNA 21-10-09). Public also should be careful in making investment in ventures that offers very high returns. There are no legally sustainable business models where one can double his investment in just 30 days. If there is one, the promoters will not offer that business model to others. They themselves will invest all the money they can and expand/improve their wealth. Public should check the credentials of such promoters before investing. The crime branch should keep an eye the fraudsters who regularly advertise in leading news papers of such schemes. Prevention is better than the cure. They may take assistance from retired Police/CBI/Bank officials/others to strengthen their net work.

MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

The HRD minister’s proposal to raise the eligibility bar for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is a move in the right direction. (DNA 20-10-09). The students with only aim of securing a better rank in the entrance examinations are neglecting the regular studies and concentrating more on coaching classes. Through this mad coaching class culture students are more interested in JEE ranking than acquiring knowledge in the chosen subjects, since the syllabus of the coaching classes are designed in that manner. More over, only the students from affluent families are benefited from this culture, because of their ability to pay, to the disadvantage of the students from poor/middle class back ground. This proposal to some extent put an end to that dis parity. It is also alleged that some students bunk the classes for the whole year and camp in the so called Mecca of coaching classes (Kota in Rajasthan etc). The get proxy attendance in connivance with school management. The HRD ministry should also look in to this matter, since this gives some students un due advantage in the JEE.

WRONG ASSESSMENT

In the article’ No election is an echo of the past’ by M J Akbar,(TOI 18-10-09) that the vote share of ‘others’ shall be around 26%, based on the voting pattern in the general election in May -09,adding Republicans share of votes to ‘others’ kitty, since they are out NCP-Congress alliance, may be wrong. Assembly elections are fought on different issues and many local factors play a major role in election of candidates. The Madhu Limaye theory that political party began to convert votes into seats at geometrical progression only after its base crosses 23% share does not hold good others (Independents and smaller parties). According to that theory others should get around 75 seats. Most un likely. Percentage votes polled, directly does convert into seats even for major political parties.

DOES IT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?

The news of Ambani brothers taking salary cut appears in all leading dailies as head line. (Mukesh Ambani takes Rs 29cr salary cut - DNA 16-10-09). Does it makes any difference to their life style nor contributes more to the exchequer? It does not. Then what is the big deal that is making the head lines. Apart from salary income, they get commission on company’s profit, income from investment made in various projects. More over all their expense are taken care by flagship companies by virtue of them being CEOs. Then what is that they are sacrifing to show solidarity with the people who are affected by draught. If they are really concerned, they should contribute a few hundred crores of their personal wealth to PM relief fund.

TN GOVT SHOULD ACT TOUGH

The attacks on Dalits who were trying to enter a temple in Nagapattinam district by non-dalits calls for severest punishment as per law. (TOI 15-10-09) The act is barbaric and un-civilized. These kinds of incidents make dalits to take extreme steps like conversions and moving towards Maoism as they are rejected by the people of their own religion. The TN government should book cases against the accused. The temples all over the state should instructed for allowing dalits to enter the same without any discriminations and fear. We should try to build a casteless society and not caste conflict society. The Center and the State government should enact law making it mandatory for temple management to have at least two dalits as priests in every temple. Tough call. But urgently required.

WSATE OF MONEY

The AP health minister and Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee president Danam Nagender’s announcement that at least 30 statue of YSR will be installed in Greater Hyderabad area is waste of public money. (TOI 15-10-09). Congress party accuses Mayavati for trying to install memorials of late Kanhiram, the BSP symbol and statue of Mayavati herself in UP and the matter is before the Supreme Court. In A P the same funds can be better utilized for building schools and hospitals in the same locality. Congress high command should interfere in the matter and should stop these acts of sycophancy.

CHINA SHOULD MIND ITS OWN BUSINESS

The protest by China against Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh is un warranted. (China protests against PM’s Arunachal visit DNA 14-10-09). Arunachal Pradesh is integral part of India and China is making un-necessary provocation in this regard. India is not Tibet to be bullied around. Instead of raking this kind un-wanted issue, China should try to further improve the relationship with India based on trust. China should not spoil the relationship built over so many years in its own interest lest the bilateral trade and commerce will work against to its dis-advantage. And India shall have to re look at its foreign policy towards China.

SUPPORT BSY

Karnataka CM’s initiative in tackling flood fury deserves to be congratulated and every one should support whole heartedly. Opposition parties should not see politics in it. The government employees should sincerely work extra hours as requested and involve themselves in rehabilitating the people in flood affected region. These kinds of natural calamities require support and commitment from every citizen.

BAD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The special auditors appointed by DOT to look into the alleged evasion of licence fees and inflation of revenue and other irregularities have pointed out the glaring mistakes committed by the country’s number one telecom player. (DNA money 13-10-09). Anil Ambani is on war path with Reliance industries limited for alleged breach of contract, bad corporate governance and greediness. As expected the response from Rcom was, we are yet to receive the report and there are no irregularities or fudging of accounts. There can not be smoke without fire. And if probed further, they may come with the explanation that they did it for the benefit of the share holders. For some, corporate governance is simply on paper or talking point.

DIFFICULT ROAD AHEAD

APPEARED IN INDIA FORBES MAGAZINE - 06 NOV 09 ISSUE UNDER THE CAPTION - RETAIL THERAPY.


The story of world’s biggest retailer Walmart is very interesting. ( India Forbes -Walmart passage to India Oct 23 -09). However, Walmart has had very little or no success out side the US. The regulatory support that exists in US is non-existent out side the US for various political and economical reasons. The infrastructure, the efficient supply chain management, the logistic support that it has built over the decades in US and most importantly the mad consumerism in US has largely contributed to the success story. Again these are non-existent in our country. The back bone of Indian retail business is credit. Being a poor cum developing economy, the poor and the middle class contributes significantly to the retail business volume. The purchasing power of consumers in this segment is very low and limited. Hence, credit plays a major role in volume business. The local kirana stores have advantage over the big players as they offer credit to selected customers. And similarly the kirana stores enjoy credit facilities from wholesalers and distributors. The easy accessibility to kirana stores is another plus point compared to the players like Walmart which are normally located in out skirts of the cities where in the people residing in that particular area can access such sores making it difficult to reach more consumers. Walmart is a volume player. The kind of regulation, the infrastructure, the logistics and the purchasing power the urban poor and middle class have in India makes the road ahead for Walmart a difficult one.

SHUN VIOLENCE

The brutal killing of Jarkhand Police inspector Francis Induwar by Maoists deserves condemnation by all. (Brute Maoists invite early action DNA 08-10-09).If the Maoists are serious about finding solutions to the problems that are faced by the tribals through out the country, they should join the mainstream politics and put forth their ideology and solution they have to solve perennial problems instead of fighting like a coward. These cowardly acts will not help any way in mitigating the problems. Maoists/Naxalites should fight for their causes through peace full means. They will not be able to achieve even one percent of their goal with these kinds of heinous acts even if they fight for one thousand years. LTTE, the most dreaded and feared organization could not achieve anything for its Tamil population by violent means in a tiny country like Srilankha. There are lessons to be learnt from the collapse of LTTE in Srilankha. The present day government at the Center and at state level has shown considerable interest in finding peaceful solutions that are engulfed the tribals in the country. It is only through negotiation the problems can be solved to the satisfaction of both the sides. It is not too late for Maoists to come and join the mainstream and have talks with the respective governments.

NATIONAL SHAME

APPEARED IN DNA 0N 08-10-09 UNDER THE CAPTION : SHABBY TREATMENT

The treatment meted out to P T Usha, the greatest athletes of our time, at Bhopal is national shame. (DNA I was forced to beg 07-10-09). The officials promptly bruised the issue as a result of a ‘lack of communication’. It is not the lack communication it is the lack of understanding and commitment towards sports administration. P T Usha’s contribution to sports is no less than that of top cricketers of that time. However, in our country only the cricket gets more attention than it deserves and other sports are neglected. It is time that the sports administrators change their attitude and administrator the sports in a professional way as done in most developed countries. This kind of incidents dampens the spirit of young athletes for whom P T Usha is iconic personality. Our sprint queen and golden girl of yester year deserve to be congratulated for exposing the shabby and careless attitude of sports administrators. Long live cricket.

MAYA SHOULD DISPLAY SOME MATURITY

The on going tussle between the country’s apex court and UP government over the construction of memorials amounting to Rs 2600.00 crores and violation of apex court order by Ms Mayavati makes mockery of our legal and political system. Mayavati who has seen many ups and downs in her political career is aware that power is not permanent and only good the governance brings her back to power and not memorials. The same amount could have been better utilized for various developmental projects in one the country’ biggest and poorest state. And she should not tag dalit card to every thing.

IPO WATCH: INDIA BULLS POWER LIMITED

The Issue : INDIA BULLS POWER LIMITED proposes to issue 33,98,00,000 shares of Rs 10/ each with a green shoe option of 5,09,00,000 aggregating to 39,07,00,000 in the price band of Rs 40 -45 . The company intends to garner around Rs 1700 cores from the issue. The issue is slated to open on 12-10 -09.

Promoters: The project is promoted by IBREL. Foreign investors FIM limited and LMN India internet ventures limited hold17.9 and 10.7 percent respectively.

The project: To set up power generating units with total capacity of 6600MW in different states. Although 16 Banks /institutions have committed funds to the extent of Rs 6,525.00 crores for the project, no Bank or Institution has independently appraised the project.

Industry/Competition: Highly competitive capital intensive industry. The promoters have no experience in the power generation business.


Other points to note: The Company is yet to obtain some clearances. For Chattisgarh project the land is yet to be acquired. First unit to be commissioned in June 2012. Heavily indebted company. The promoters have acquired 118, 50, 00,000 shares at an average cost of Rs 5/.

IPO grading: The rating agency CRISIL has assigned Grade 3 indicating average fundamentals.

The company has no business track record. Hence share premium of Rs30-35/ is not justified.


Recommendations: Considering the inexperience of the promoters, long gestation period and heavy indebtedness, investors may avoid subscription.

FUND MANAGERS SHOULD TAKE CUE FROM OUR POLITICIANS

The declared assets our politicians has shown substantial growth in 2009 compared to their assets in 2004. (Pawar lead charge in political family wealth DNA 05-10-09). It makes our business men and industrialists ponder over their ability to create and manage wealth. The assets of our politicians have shown substantial growth in spite of recession in the economy, needs to be specially appreciated. Our fund managers should take lessons from our politicians how to increase the wealth irrespective of GDP growth and market conditions. Our politicians declared aim is to work for the poor, down trodden, weaker and other un fortunate sections of the society. However our poor voters continues to be at what they were many years ago, where as their netas have become the wealthiest and still they proclaim that their entire life is dedicated for the up- liftment of the poorest of the poor. Long live our democracy and our politicians.

JAGAN WAS NEVER AT THE BUS STOP

The article by K V Ramana that Jaganmohan might have missed the C M bus has no reasoning.(DNA 02-10-09). You will miss the bus only if you are at the bus stop. Jagan was never at the bus stop. Neither has he had the proven track record nor the experience to occupy the highest post. Some loyalists and sycophants wanted him to be the C M to implement their hidden agenda through an inexperienced person. Being a CM’s son does not mean, that you will be made CM on some happenings. The death of YSR has crated a vacuum in the state and the Congress high command has rightly chosen the experienced Rosaiah to the CM’ post. Jagan is still young and should work for the party and prove his mettle before aspiring for the coveted post.