Below The Line

Over-the-top card

Companies leave no stone unturned to make their media invites attractive. From footballs to toys, it could be anything. But the latest topped them all.

The invitation to a conference on human resource practices in the capital last weekend added a line requesting journalists to carry their Aadhaar cards if they wanted a new Reliance Jio simcard. Seriously!

A question of semantics

Will Sushil Muhnot, who was “removed” from the post of Bank of Maharashtra CMD recently, be entitled to retirement benefits? The jury is still out on this.

Those in banking circles point out that the finance ministry order only mentions that he has been “removed” from the post with immediate effect; it does not say he has been “dismissed from service”. Is this taking things too far? Banking insiders feel the courts must interpret this and clear the air.

Heightened anticipation

Financial Technologies played its ace in the NSEL-FTIL merger case last week. Appearing on its behalf, the renowned lawyer Harish Salve is said to have requested the Bombay High Court to give him at least three consecutive days to present his arguments. Salve’s presence has legal eagles eagerly awaiting November 24, when the hearing will take place and we can expect some hard hitting against the corporate affairs ministry’s final order.

Will this bring down the curtains on India’s first attempt at forced merger in the private sector space? Only time will tell.

Smart move?

When the news is likely get a bad press, release it when newspapers are racing against deadlines — this seems to be the government strategy. The finance ministry’s notification on a cut in small savings came unusually late in the evening.

While official sources said the order took time to be issued, media-watchers were of the view this was deliberate. The lateness meant most newspapers were either closing for the day or could only manage to fit in a few paras and there was no time to comment adversely on the issue.

Losing spirit

Kerala’s liquor policy was a subject of much debate at the recent Kerala Tourism mart. Could the stagnant growth be due to prohibition? It has impacted tourism by just 3 per cent said a defensive official even as the KTDC chief said the policy would be reviewed and changed soon. According to observers, it’s the effect the liquor policy is having on the labour market and employment that’s got policymakers rethinking the matter. “Many daily wage-earners only go out to work to earn enough for their evening peg. Now they say if we can’t have our peg why bother to work!” said one observer.

Date with Bahubali

Former Union minister, Veerappa Moily, who has written a book on the Ramayana, wants to release his book on the revered Jain figure, Lord Bahubali, also known as Gomateswara, by October 2017.

During a recent visit to Mangaluru, Moily said this was so it would be available before the mahamastakabhisheka of Bhagavan Bahubali at Shravanabelagola in Hassan district of Karnataka in 2018.

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