Ajay Seth as Finance Secy?

The corridors of power are rife with speculation — Ajay Seth, the sharp-witted Secretary of Economic Affairs, is the frontrunner to be designated as the next Finance Secretary. Normally, the senior-most secretary in the Finance Ministry assumes the coveted title.

A 1987 batch IAS officer from the Karnataka cadre, Seth’s expertise in economic affairs makes him a natural choice. With major fiscal decisions looming, all eyes are now on North Block for the final word.

Quiet send-off

It’s not too often that a top regulator exits without so much as a bouquet, a speech, or even a lukewarm round of applause. But Madhabi Puri Buch, India’s first woman SEBI chief, wrapped up her tenure with… well, a ghost farewell. Employees reportedly sighed in relief as she left the building — except that she didn’t even visit the office on her last day!

In a corporate world where even underperforming CEOs get golden parachutes and grand farewells, this is a rare sight. No cake, no farewell mug with “Best Boss Ever” printed on it. Just a quiet departure, almost like she left a WhatsApp group chat. But as a no-nonsense performer, she was not aiming at popularity, anyway.

Political twist in TN

Tamil Nadu has been dogged by workers unrest in Sriperumbudur, a thriving automobile and electronics industries cluster. Heading the workers’ cause is CPI(M)-affiliated CITU. A little bird suspects that CITU has become active in the State and is espousing the cause of workers more vigorously since CPI(M) is planning to quit the DMK-led I.N.D.I. Alliance.

With actor Vijay floating his party to contest the 2026 State Assembly elections, CPI(M) could switch over to his side with a few other parties such as VCK and, perhaps, the Congress.

A little bird says probably, the CPI(M) is feeling the pulse of the people in the State.

Stealth rebalancing?

Home Minister Amit Shah’s assurance that Tamil Nadu and other southern States won’t lose a single seat in the upcoming delimitation exercise may sound comforting, but the real game is in the numbers. While seats may not be slashed, the potential increase in northern States could dilute the South’s political weight.

The equation is simple: No seat loss doesn’t mean no power loss.

A different pitch

Employees of the financial system’s scrap merchants — the Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) — displayed their competitive spirit on the Turf (at the Andheri Sport Complex, Mumbai) by participating in the maiden Inter ARC Cricket Championship, which was put together by the Association of ARCs in India.

Usually, these employees vigorously compete with each other from the comfort of their office to buy bad loans from lenders. But on February 28, it was a different ballgame for 11 ARCs. The theme of the championship was “Spot it. Treat it. Beat it” for raising awareness about breast cancer.

Sage advice

The Drug Controller General of India had some very sage advice for the pharmaceutical industry.

Urging industry to be driven by quality and not just profitability, he told a gathering of top representatives of the pharmaceutical industry gathered in Mumbai, to follow “Saraswati”, and that “Laxmi” would follow — in other words, to stick with quality research and content, as the profits would follow in turn.

Published on March 2, 2025