Really?

Which private company has the largest land bank in India? No, not DLF, which has the largest land bank for a real estate company. The answer is Infosys, which has a total built-up area of 36.78 million sq. ft; DLF has only 28 million sq. ft. No wonder, former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai once termed Infy as a real estate firm first, then an IT company.

Mobile poll

A recent innovative opinion poll offers a taste of things to come in the Maharashtra Leaflets were distributed asking voters to choose an MLA in a south Mumbai constituency. Seven options were offered, covering all the key parties. All that a respondent needed to do was to give a missed call to the cell number listed against the party of his choice. One phone number will count for only one vote. There was no word on who was doing the poll. Perhaps, it was by some one who wants to bid for a seat. Or, not bid for a ticket, come to think of it.

Penny-pinching banks

With banks weighed down by bad loans, a penny saved is a penny earned. Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank, which was to sponsor Bankers’ Conference (Bancon), seems to have developed cold feet hosting this year’s edition. Bankers say none is ready to single-handedly pick the ₹3/5-crore tab for the two-day event. Now, to salvage the event, the Indian Banks’ Association may either pull in three-four banks or rope as the sponsor a big IT or payment services provider.

Hasty retreat

PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi’s meeting last week with Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Badal led to a bit of a khichdi . An official release on August 26 said that “…the Minister suggested to the PepsiCo Chairman that they should partner with India… in developing food products that can be supplied as part of the mid-day meals in rural India…” The media duly highlighted this issue. And, the very next day, the Ministry clarified that “that Minister did not support any proposal for supply of processed food under the Mid Day Meal Scheme…” Wonder, who turned the plate on whom!

Ever the diplomat

Noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani launched a diatribe against Nehru at the launch in Mumbai of Natwar Singh’s book One Life is Not Enough . But given his closeness to the Nehru family, Natwar rated Nehru’s contributions second only to Gandhiji’s.

He did fault Nehru’s foreign policy though, on three counts. One, for taking the Kashmir issue to the UN; two, for asking Mountbatten to stay on as governor-general of free India; and, three, for his romantic ideas about China.

Grading his successes and failures, Natwar gave Nehru a score of 70 on 100.

In silent mode

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying in a recent interview that there are no political untouchables and hinted at a possible alliance with the CPI(M), had reporters scrambling around to get in touch with senior Trinamool Congress leaders. But most were unsuccessful. Some who did manage to get in touch with the leaders were told not to even mention the meeting. Most leaders said they were on silent mode and had switched off their cell phones.

Grand success

Who says public sector bank chiefs don’t have the gift of the gab? When the chief executive of a PSB wanted to tell a journalist that the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was a grand success in his bank, he told him that the good response was so good that police had to be called in to control the mob at one of bank’s branches in a Tier-2 city! Really?

Tailpiece

Have you heard the latest joke on politicians, asked Natwar Singh at his book launch event in Mumbai. Here it goes: “If one politician falls into the river, that is pollution. If all politicians fall into the river that is a solution!”

comment COMMENT NOW