Below the line

What can be more premium than gold, Mr Reporters? asked Xiaomi’s India head. When tech firm Xiaomi launched its latest flagship mobile phones recently, one of the questions thrown at the company’s India Managing Director Manu Jain was whether they have plans to enter the premium smartphone market?

An amused Jain responded by saying that the company has just unveiled a ₹4-lakh phone; so how much more premium can you get? Jain was referring to the variant of the Redmi K20 Pro, called the Signature Edition, which is made of real gold, with a diamond garnishing added for good measure.

Xiaomi is yet to decide on how this phone will be brought to the market, but it seems to be keen on shaking off the ‘budget phone’ tag.

All eyes are now on the corporate affairs ministry to see if it would ban audit firms Deloitte, Haskins & Sells and BSR Associates for their failure to detect and report the scams in the now-bankrupt IL&FS Group.

Reason: Although the government has demanded a ban on these two audit firms for five years, the NCLT had given a go ahead to prosecute these firms. Now, whether prosecution would include a ban is the million-dollar question.

Indications are that the government may use the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) route for debarment of the concerned audit firms, once the proposed amendments to the Companies Act are enacted.

So only time will tell how the Corporate Affairs Ministry traverses this tricky issue.

India couldn’t make it to the World Cup finals but the one man who shone was Rohit Sharma.

With this World Cup, there has been a tremendous growth in his fan following and Rohit Kapoor, CEO, New Real Estate Business, Oyo, happens to be one. During an event when he was asked a question by a person called Rohit, he said that’s a good name. When the person then said that his full name was Rohit Sharma, Kapoor replied, “Even better”.

There is a dissonance between the Delhi Road Transport Department and the Union Ministry of Roads. On its part, the Nitin Gadkari-led Roads Ministry is pushing for a unified web portal to allow transfer of address and updation of details on a Motor Vehicle driving license across the country. But the Delhi State Transport Department is opposing this.

The Delhi South Zone Transport Department officials say that they have requested the Centre to disable the online service of updating address details for driving licenses that have been issued outside the city as the current Motor Vehicle Act does not allow this. The officials are citing security concerns for their stand.

On the issue of quacks the Centre is not passing on the buck to the States, though health is a State subject.

When asked in the Lok Sabha on whether the government was aware of the number of quacks making a killing duping people, and whether it was taking any measures to prevent this, Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey said Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, prohibits a person other than a medical practitioner enrolled on a State Medical Register to practice medicine in the State.

“Any person acting in contravention shall be punishable with imprisonment for a period up to one year or with fine up to rupees one thousand or both,” he said.

Since health is a State subject, the primary responsibility to deal with such cases lies with State governments, the Minister said, but he was quick to add that “The Central government, in keeping view of the above, requested chief ministers of all the States to take appropriate action under the law against quacks and also to evolve suitable policies to ensure availability of quality health workforce in rural areas.”

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