Last week, Congress MPs Ranjeet Ranjan and Sushmita Dev moved a call attention motion in the Lok Sabha on the rising prices of some essential drugs and the growth of spurious medicines. The next to speak was BJP MP from Sultanpur, Varun Gandhi, who invited Opposition ire as he launched into a clarification when the Minister concerned was present in the House. “This is not the age of Fabian socialism… Nothing can be achieved by killing the golden goose (pharma companies),” he said. Later, an Opposition member was heard muttering that Gandhi seemed more concerned about “the health of pharma firms than that of the poor”!

Taking no chances

The management of a new airline which is expected to commence its flights early January seems to be quite superstitious. Apparently, it has decided to skip number 13 in its configuration of economy class seats. There are 96 seats in the economy class with 17 rows minus row number 13. Looks like the new airline is leaving nothing to chance.

Billion-dollar baby

Wipro’s Healthcare business head relocated to New York from Bangalore in January to be closer to customers, to her team and enable faster decision making. More important, to ensure that the business grows to hit the $1 billion milestone in 2015.

Asked if she would move back once the $1 billion target is achieved, she laughed and said, she could use it as a bargaining chip to do just that.

Honesty is the best policy

It is common for media managers of companies to invite journalists in conferences promising major announcements. In most cases, such promises turn out to be hollow. The trend becomes most evident in a low-growth scenario, when corporates usually try to cut advertisement spends and merrily push free of cost publicity through news coverage.

But there are some exceptions to this rule. Take GE Healthcare, which recently invited Kolkata journalists to meet its chief executive officer for South Asia, Milan Rao, and a day before the press conference the media manager of the company, informed the journalists that her CEO would not be able to share any facts and figures on business. To be fair, the information might have impacted the turnout to the conference. Obviously, the company believed honesty in the best policy.

Ticking slow

A luxury watch on your wrist is not only a style statement but also signifies that you have arrived in life. But for luxury watch-makers, who till about a year ago were making hay while the sun of disposable income was shining, business in India has hit the slow lane now, thanks to the Modi government.

Well, don’t smell the Swadeshi philosophy here; it’s got to do with the government’s Big Brother attitude. Watch makers says a significant chunk of luxury watches were used to bribe officials. The sales are now ticking slowly.

Kharge effect

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was scathing in his attack on the BJP-led government for its attempts to bypass established procedures and get Bills passed without referring them to the Standing Committee concerned. “I really don’t know why you are in such a hurry,” Kharge wondered in the Lok Sabha last week.

The government did not budge when it came to the Companies’ Bill, but the Kharge effect seemed to have worked for subsequent Bills.

Now it has decided to refer Bills such as the one on Electricity Act to the Standing Committee.

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