Below the Line

Ultimatum to Infosys

Going by the buzz in North Block, finance ministry officials recently gave a dressing down to senior Infosys officials for the GST tech platform snags, which has led to the GST reform becoming politically controversial. At a secret meeting outside North Block, finance ministry mandarins are understood to have conveyed that the reputation of the Government was at stake because of the blunders by Infosys. On its part, Infosys contends that frequent changes in legislation are delaying the stabilisation of the IT platform.

The Government is right in saying that Infosys did not deploy its best team for this project. Infosys is right in saying that frequent changes in legislation and rates make it difficult to usher in the necessary software changes. An ultimatum now has been given to Infosys to the effect that the contract could be cancelled in December if the snags are not sorted out this month! Infosys, it is learnt, has pulled out 200 top-notch people from its projects around the world and have deployed them for the GST project.

Easy prey

Vodafone, Idea and Airtel were on the ball following reports about RCom shutting down major parts of its wireless business. Sensing opportunity, representatives of these three telcos went on a rampage calling up RCom customers and asking them to “port” to their network. Their marketing mantra was quite blunt. “Did you know, RCom is closing down soon and you will not be able to use this number anymore? So better go in for Vodafone and continue using the same number,” said a caller claiming to be representing Vodafone.

Rcom subscribers on average got at least five calls each from Vodafone, Airtel, Idea every day. They were even offered discounts on bills for referring or inviting RCom subscribers to join Vodafone’s network. Clearly one telco’s loss is another’s success. But hapless Rcom customers are having to go through porting pains, requiring them to furnish identity proof and residence proof all over again.

IPR at cross purposes

Intellectual Property Rights can be a tricky domain for most people, and the CIPAM (Cell for IPR Promotion and Management) has taken it upon itself to decode the sphere. In addition to launching a website dedicated to simplifying the process of applying for a IPR, the CIPAM, an arm of the department of industrial policy and promotion, also distributed pamphlets and charts to journalists. One of the handouts had a crossword entitled ‘IP Brain Gym’. This basic exercise got recipients to fill in the words trademark, telephone, economy, and discovery, among others. While the attempt is commendable, it was a bit frivolous considering the nature of those who apply for or need clarity on IPR.

Writing on the wall

Is the wall of a public convenience facility the right place to put out an open invitation to World Food India 2017? To top it all, there was a huge photo of the chief minister as well (for the State pavilion) on the wall in the heart of the capital. Purists may frown, and the chalta hai brigade will ignore the irony. However, it is better to have a ‘ badal sakta hai ’ attitude for a ‘New India’, going by the Prime Minister’s advice.

More Aadhaar blues

The mandatory linking of Aadhaar to practically all services has forced the Government to boost its image management exercise. It was thought that linking rail tickets to Aadhaar would reduce ghost booking through touts and help improve ticket availability to genuine passengers. But instead of mandating Aadhaar and “potentially inconveniencing passengers”, an incentive has been given by which one can double the booking limit per month (from 6 to 12) on linking Aadhaar with IRCTC. When a journalist asked if the Government would make Aadhaar mandatory to book rail rickets, a government representative snapped that this would be done as soon as everybody promises not to write negatively about it. Uh oh!

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