August 20, 2017:

There is always a huge cost to pay if you wash your dirty linen in public. If the cost were to come in the form of class-action suits, it could turn even more expensive. A class-action suit now seems inevitable given what happened at Infosys this past week. The corridors of power in the capital are abuzz with rumours that some of the company’s American shareholders may move class-actions against Infosys on controversial governance-related issues.

It is learnt that a US law firm, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a corporate litigation boutique, has already begun investigating potential claims on behalf of American shareholders of Infosys. The investigation relates to whether Infosys and certain of its officers and/or directors have complied with US federal securities laws, according to informed sources in the corporate affairs ministry. Infosys shares tanked not only in the domestic bourses on Friday; the company’s American Depository Receipts dropped as much as $1.43 per share, or nearly 9 per cent, during intraday trading on August 18!

Mozzie attack

Mosquito-borne diseases are prevalent in more than 100 countries. Mosquitoes infect about 300 to 500 million people, causing 1 million deaths every year around the world. More than 40 million people suffer from mosquito-borne diseases annually in India alone. So what is the solution? According to the Indian Medical Association the need of the hour is to take collective action to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.

The IMA advocates an all-out war, indoors and outdoors, against the mosquitoes. The targets and strategies include: stagnant water, fresh or dirty water; small containers like bottle caps or large containers like overhead tankers, irrespective of the material they’re made of; throughout the day (early morning fogging when pupa hatch for Aedes, late night for malaria); scrubbing clean the utensils. Most important: watch out for breeding areas on a daily basis.

Look who’s at the movies!

As Gurinder Chadha’s latest film, Partition:1947, hit the screens in India on Friday, there was one enthusiastic movie buff keenly awaiting its release. It was our very own MOS home affairs, Kiren Rijiju. A day before the movie’s release he tweeted, “Such movies are beyond commercial interests. Eager to see the revealing facts in #Partition1947 ! I’m doing a special screening.” Chadha and her team were delighted to read this. “Wow Thank you sir @KirenRijiju I am so happy to hear you are hosting a screening for government ministers,” she tweeted back.

Soul food and taxes

It’s not just hard-nosed tax issues that will be discussed at the forthcoming annual conference of tax officials next month. Apart from addresses by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the two-day Rajaswa Gyan Sangam to be held on September 1 and 2 will also have a session with Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev. Uplifting efforts!

Double trouble

With trade unions demanding that the minimum wage be doubled to ₹18,000/month and the Centre quiet on what it plans to do, exporters seem to be losing their patience and calm.

The Apparel Export Promotion Council has shot off a letter to the textile ministry asking the Government to clear the confusion. The council has asked the Government to clarify that the minimum wages are not going to be fixed at ₹18000 which, it says, will make garment manufacturing unviable.

The move will not only affect exports but also lead to a fall in employment generation, the letter warns. How long an emerging economy can use the argument given by the exporters to keep wages at abysmal levels is a call only the Government can take. For the sake of all concerned, it needs to move fast on the issue.

(This article was published on August 20, 2017)