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Some links to stories

1. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rahul-bajaj-tells-how-new-industrial-policy-may-change-the- way-business-works/1/319512.html

The raj and meRahul Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Auto-Limited, one of India's most successful companies with a turnover of Rs 1,220 crore, tells Principal Correspondent Godfrey Pereira how the licence raj worked and how the new industrial policy could change the way business works.Godfrey Pereira

August 15, 1991 | UPDATED 16:23 IST

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Rahul Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Auto-Limited, one of India's most successful companies with a turnover of Rs 1,220 crore, tells Principal Correspondent Godfrey

Pereira how the licence raj worked and how the new industrial policy could change the way business works.

My personal experience of the licensing system has often been a nightmare. In fact, from 1968, we have had great difficulties. We always got 30 per cent of what we asked for.

Rajiv Gandhi came in 1984, and brought with him the winds of liberalisation. Even then I got to expand only after three years. The Government made all kinds of funny conditions. How export? Why export?

It took three years for the capacity in my Aurangabad plant to be raised from three to 10 lakhs. And of course we lost out, because we were not allowed to expand. What the Government did not think is that the world is not going to wait for you. Three bloody years. Imagine what could have been done in that time.

Now they have knocked out the M from the MRTP Act. It should help.

We are going to try to be more internationally competitive, we are going to get in foreign collaboration and increase what we already have. We will get specialised technicians from all over the world, and then compete. That is the only way to survive. Let the best come to India, we have already begun rolling.

It will be interesting to see what the Government has in mind about the exit policy. It will have to create schemes, whereby these surplus workers are trained, and then given jobs. The Government may have to bear the cost of the training.

Sure, at Bajaj too we have surplus, now I certainly cannot kick out people, but we have been expanding, so we have got around that. When I say that we have surplus, I am talking in relative terms. We have been growing with modernisation.

Right now, I am looking at the technology transfer part. Getting a foreign technician is fine. Getting a blanket permit is fine, but how much does that mean in terms of money? What happens if the funds are not adequate? Do I pay him through the RBI or buy the REP?

I have reason to rejoice, because I know how difficult it can get to chase someone in New Delhi for a licence. Then some fool delays the whole project by procrastinating, because he wants something for himself or a thousand other things. I have experienced all this, but now I think things will change.

2. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ray-ban-will-be-launched-in-india-by-march-next-year/ 1/318628.html

If you think twice before you touch Indian sunglasses, think again. The world-famous Ray Ban brand is slated to be launched in India by March next year, provided everything goes according to plan.

Bausch and Lomb, manufacturers of the international brand, have tied up with Bhai Mohan Singh's Ranbaxy empire to make Ray Ban glasses here, which are expected to be priced at over Rs 1,000 each.

Also, the Rs 30-crore project - 20 per cent of the equity will be unloaded to the public, with the parents retaining 40 per cent each - will bring to the Indian consumer a variety of eyecare products - soft contact lenses and lens care solutions. Also on the cards is the manufacture of metallic frames for prescription glasses.

The only thing that hasn't been finalised is the brand name. Says Jaspal Singh Bajwa, general manager (marketing), Bausch and Lomb India Limited: "The Indian brand name will be an Indianised version." Ray Bandh, perhaps.

3. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bata-india-enters-into-marketing-tie-ups-with-funskool-toys- and-bsa-cycles/1/319486.htmlBata India is refashioning its growth strategy, moving away from manufacturing and emphasising marketing like never before. Recently Bata entered into marketing tie-ups with Funskool Toys and BSA Cycles. To flex its retailing muscle better, it has formed a separate company to handle its shops and real estate, presumably to facilitate expansion. And partly in response to labour problems at its West Bengal factory, production lines are being shifted out of the state - if not discontinued altogether. The gameplan is also to farm out production of low-profit items - cheap shoes, for example - and instead, stress on high-margin products such as Adidas sports shoes, and re-position its Ambassador range of apparel in view of growing competition from brands such as Stencil, Louis Phillipe, and Park Avenue. Even a decade ago, few thought Bata would amount to much else besides shoes.

4. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/new-currency-for-import-hungry-people/1/318658.html

For India's import-hungry people, a new currency will be unveiled next month. Called the Exim Scrip - hazy details of which were given out by Minister of State for Commerce P. Chidambaram while announcing his package of trade reforms - this new currency will replace the old-fangled replenishment licences, better known as REPs.

While the REP licence looked like any official document, the new Exim Scrip will look more like a currency note, though it will be much bigger. It will be printed at the Nasik Security Press. And unlike REPs, which are essentially entitlements to import, the scrip will be issued in denominations that are more easily tradeable and exchanged.

The lowest denomination being thought of is Rs 1 lakh, but smaller notes may be issued later if found necessary. Current information indicates that the scrip will be denominated in rupees rather than dollars.

5. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bullish-trend-continues-in-stock-market/1/318661.html

The stock-markets should have been in a tailspin for the fortnight ended July 19. Yes, corporate results for 1990-91 still trickling in, confirmed that last year was a vintage one, with profits touching the highest levels ever.

Yes, a possible loan from the IMF is definitely a morale booster as it shows that India may yet come out of the balance of payments mess. And yes, if India liberalises, it can work wonders for Indian industry and by default, the stock-markets, as industry is expected to increasingly tap the markets - not banks - for money.

But the point is that these factors had something either to do with the past, or a future that looked increasingly suspect. As the fortnight drew to a close, there was still no sign of the much-touted new industrial policy, which the Government had promised would be unveiled on July 15. There were signs that a section of the Congress(I), as much as the Opposition and monopolists, were out to stall any reform.

Though the contours of the Union budget were unclear, nobody expected it to be lenient. Meanwhile, the railway budget has proposed an increase in freight charges. Usually the market dips whenever the Railway Ministry suggests a hike, but this time, the markets just went on climbing, with The Economic Times Share Price Index registering a 41.4 point rise over the fortnight, to close at 703.1.

There was no indication of the markets acknowledging that devaluation doesn't work well if exports don't increase right away. Import tariffs had not come down, and the devaluation of the rupee meant that both the Government and industry were adding to India's bill, besides adding costs to the consumers' purchases. Real inflation was estimated to be at 16 per cent, as against the Government's claims of a little over 10 per cent.

Ignoring the bad news, scrips across the board gained over the fortnight. What seemed like a good run may actually have been bears pretending to be bulls. Driving up prices by buying, selling at a profit but alongside, selling at a time so that if prices fall after the Union budget, they can clean up a market full of cheap stocks. And start the cycle all over again. Either way, they win.

Going by this trend, the logic behind the fortnight's share price gains seem acceptable. But if the rise is a sign of solid investor confidence - which some market analysts doubt - in India's economic future and the Government's intention of pulling off a liberalisation coup, then the trend was premature.

Devaluing the rupee and allowing free trading of replenishment licences were the initial steps to reform, but the others were nowhere in sight. Waiting and watching may have been more prudent. Remember 1987?

6. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indian-sewing-machine-company-now-diversifies-into- new-areas/1/319483.html

Indian Sewing Machine Company Limited, the makers of the Singer brand of sewing machines, is now diversifying into a whole range of new areas. The company, after its success in selling food processors, is coming up with electric steam irons, rice cookers and toasters, among other things.

The company also plans to make retailing a source of business, mirroring a recent corporate trend where organisations, which are constrained by flattening sales, are looking to make better use of their assets. Singer has as many as 100 stores all over the country through which it plans to sell refrigerators, washing machines and even televisions manufactured by different companies, but marketed under the Singer brand name.

7. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/latest-business-news/1/319485.html

8. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/highest-registrations-of-private-companies-in- maharashtra/1/319537.html9.

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http://theviewspaper.net/r-k-laxman-a-cartoonist-creator-and-more/

11. http://economydecoded.com/2015/02/laxmans-caricatures-indian-economy-connecting-dots.html#!

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