Jet Airways on 14th May said its CEO Vinay Dube has resigned from the company due to personal reasons. This is the second high profile exit in as many days at the grounded Jet Airways after Deputy CEO Amit Agarwal put in his papers on Monday. In a filing to stock exchanges, the airline said Mr. Dube has resigned from the services of the company with immediate effect due to personal reasons.
Showing posts with label Business GK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business GK. Show all posts
Budget 2018-19 Highlights
Budget 2018-19 Highlights, Full Budget in PDF:
- Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley on 1st February 2018 presents general Budget 2018-19 in Parliament.
- Budget guided by mission to strengthen agriculture, rural development, health, education, employment, MSME and infrastructure sectors
- Government says, a series of structural reforms will propel India among the fastest growing economies of the world. Country firmly on course to achieve over 8 % growth as manufacturing, services and exports back on good growth path.
- MSP for all unannounced kharif crops will be one and half times of their production cost like majority of rabi crops: Institutional Farm Credit raised to 11 lakh crore in 2018-19 from 8.5 lakh crore in 2014-15.
- 22,000 rural haats to be developed and upgraded into Gramin Agricultural Markets to protect the interests of 86% small and marginal farmers.
- “Operation Greens” launched to address price fluctuations in potato, tomato and onion for benefit of farmers and consumers.
- Two New Funds of Rs10,000 crore announced for Fisheries and Animal Husbandary sectors; Re-structured National Bamboo Mission gets Rs.1290 crore.
- Loans to Women Self Help Groups will increase to Rs.75,000 crore in 2019 from 42,500 crore last year.
- Higher targets for Ujjwala, Saubhagya and Swachh Mission to cater to lower and middle class in providing free LPG connections, electricity and toilets.
- Outlay on health, education and social protection will be 1.38 lakh crore. Tribal students to get Ekalavya Residential School in each tribal block by 2022. Welfare fund for SCs gets a boost.
- World’s largest Health Protection Scheme covering over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families launched with a family limit upto 5 lakh rupees for secondary and tertiary treatment.
- Fiscal Deficit pegged at 3.5 %, projected at 3.3 % for 2018-19.
Deficit-Trends
- Rs. 5.97 lakh crore allocation for infrastructure
- Ten prominent sites to be developed as Iconic tourist destinations
- NITI Aayog to initiate a national programme on Artificial Intelligence(AI)
- Centres of excellence to be set up on robotics, AI, Internet of things etc
- Disinvestment crossed target of Rs 72,500 crore to reach Rs 1,00,000 crore
- Comprehensive Gold Policy on the anvil to develop yellow metal as an asset class
- 100 percent deduction proposed to companies registered as Farmer Producer Companies with an annual turnover upto Rs. 100 crore on profit derived from such activities, for five years from 2018-19.
- Deduction of 30 percent on emoluments paid to new employees Under Section 80-JJAA to be relaxed to 150 days for footwear and leather industry, to create more employment.
- No adjustment in respect of transactions in immovable property where Circle Rate value does not exceed 5 percent of consideration.
- Proposal to extend reduced rate of 25 percent currently available for companies with turnover of less than 50 crore (in Financial Year 2015-16), to companies reporting turnover up to Rs. 250 crore in Financial Year 2016-17, to benefit micro, small and medium enterprises.
- Standard Deduction of Rs. 40,000 in place of present exemption for transport allowance and reimbursement of miscellaneous medical expenses. 2.5 crore salaried employees and pensioners to benefit.
Relief to Senior Citizens proposed:-
- Exemption of interest income on deposits with banks and post offices to be increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000.
- TDS not required to be deducted under section 194A. Benefit also available for interest from all fixed deposit schemes and recurring deposit schemes.
- Hike in deduction limit for health insurance premium and/ or medical expenditure from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 50,000 under section 80D.
- Increase in deduction limit for medical expenditure for certain critical illness from Rs. 60,000 (in case of senior citizens) and from Rs. 80,000 (in case of very senior citizens) to Rs. 1 lakh for all senior citizens, under section 80DDB.
- Proposed to extend Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana up to March, 2020. Current investment limit proposed to be increased to Rs. 15 lakh from the existing limit of Rs. 7.5 lakh per senior citizen.
Tax-Receipts
- More concessions for International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), to promote trade in stock exchanges located in IFSC.
- To control cash economy, payments exceeding Rs. 10,000 in cash made by trusts and institutions to be disallowed and would be subject to tax.
- Tax on Long Term Capital Gains exceeding Rs. 1 lakh at the rate of 10 percent, without allowing any indexation benefit. However, all gains up to 31st January, 2018 will be grandfathered.
- Proposal to introduce tax on distributed income by equity oriented mutual funds at the rate of 10 percent.
- Proposal to increase cess on personal income tax and corporation tax to 4 percent from present 3 percent.
- Proposal to roll out E-assessment across the country to almost eliminate person to person contact leading to greater efficiency and transparency in direct tax collection.
- Proposed changes in customs duty to promote creation of more jobs in the country and also to incentivise domestic value addition and Make in India in sectors such as food processing, electronics, auto components, footwear and furniture.
Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2017
Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2017: The Parliament has passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2017 with the Rajya Sabha adopting it 20th December 2018. The Lok Sabha had cleared the bill earlier in the monsoon session. The bill intends to strengthen corporate governance standards, initiate strict action against defaulting companies and help improve ease of doing business. It provides for more than 40 amendments to the Companies Act, 2013, which was passed during the previous UPA regime.
Key Features of Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2017
- Group company structure and compliance procedures: The bill has changed definitions relating to ‘holding company’, ‘subsidiary company’, ‘associate company’. It will have impact on group company structure and compliance procedures.
- Compliance procedures and approval mechanism: It enhances scope of compliance procedures and approval mechanism of Related Party Transaction of related parties.
- Shares on private placement basis: It amends this provision in parent Act. It will have impact on both – private companies and public companies.
- Maintenance of Register of significant beneficial owners in a company: The bill adds this new provision. Besides, changes provisions relating to board meetings and shareholders’ meetings, based on operational and compliance issues faced by the corporates.
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): The amendment to CSR provisions are particularly related to its applicability and constitution of CSR. It takes into account the interpretational and operational issues.
- Resident Director and Independent Director: It provides for clarity in applicability and role of Resident Director and Independent Director. Further it elaborated ‘Pecuniary relationship’ in relation to independent directors.
- Loans to Directors: The bill substitutes entire section relating to ‘Loans to Directors’ under the Companies Act, 2013. It introduces certain checks and balances by way of approval process and for enabling ‘loans to directors’, in certain cases.
- Managerial Remuneration: It liberalises provision related to Managerial Remuneration. It replaces requirement of Central Government approval by requirement of approval of shareholders, secured creditors and non-convertible debenture holders, as the case maybe.
- Auditors Report: It mandates requirement that Statutory Auditor of company to report in its Auditors Report on compliance of provisions of managerial remuneration and whether remuneration paid to any director is in excess of prescribed limits.
UIDAI suspends Aadhaar based eKYC licence of Airtel
UIDAI suspends Aadhaar based eKYC licence of Airtel. In its strongest action yet, the UIDAI on 16th December has temporarily barred Bharti Airtel and Airtel Payments Bank from conducting Aadhaar-based SIM verification of mobile customers using e-KYC (Electronic Know Your Customer) process as well as e-KYC of payments bank clients. The action follows allegations of Bharti Airtel using the Aadhaar-eKYC based SIM verification process to open payments bank accounts of its subscribers without their 'informed consent'. UIDAI also took strong objection to allegations that such payments bank accounts are being linked to receive LPG subsidy.
World Economic situation and Prospects 2018 Report
World economic situation and prospects 2018 Report PDF: An upturn in the global economy—now growing by about 3 per cent—paves the way to reorient policy towards longer-term issues such as addressing climate change, tackling existing inequalities and removing institutional obstacles to development, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2018, launched on 11th December 2017 in New York. “The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 demonstrates that current macroeconomic conditions offer policy-makers greater scope to address some of the deep-rooted issues that continue to hamper progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals,” stated UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the Foreword.
World Economy: According to the report, in 2017, world economic growth has reached 3% - the highest growth since 2011 - as crisis-related fragilities and the adverse effects of other recent shocks subside. The improvement is widespread, with roughly two-thirds of countries worldwide experiencing stronger growth in 2017 than in the previous year. Global growth is expected to remain steady at 3.0 per cent in 2018 and 2019
Indian Economy: According to ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018’ report, India’s GDP growth is projected to accelerate from 6.7% in 2017 to 7.2% in 2018 and 7.4% in 2019 on the back of strong private consumption, public investment and the ongoing structural reforms. The report, which was unveiled by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), stated that overall, economic outlook for South Asia is seen largely favourable and steady for the short term, notwithstanding significant medium-term challenges. On India, the UN DESA report has projected a positive outlook despite the slowdown early this year and the lingering effects of demonetisation.
Moody's upgrades India's rating to positive after 13 years
International rating agency Moody's Investors Service has upgraded India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive. The rating upgrade comes after a gap of 13 years - Moody's had last upgraded India's rating to 'Baa3' in 2004. In 2015, the rating outlook was changed to 'positive' from 'stable'. US-based Moody's today upgraded India's sovereign credit rating by a notch to 'Baa2' with a stable outlook citing improved growth prospects driven by economic and institutional reforms. The rating upgrade comes after a gap of 13 years - Moody's had last upgraded India's rating to 'Baa3' in 2004. In 2015, the rating outlook was changed to 'positive' from 'stable'.
"The decision to upgrade the ratings is underpinned by Moody's expectation that continued progress on economic and institutional reforms will, over time, enhance India's high growth potential and its large and stable financing base for government debt, and will likely contribute to a gradual decline in the general government debt burden over the medium term," Moody’s said in a statement.
India International Trade Fair 2017 Theme, Venue, Important facts
India International Trade Fair 2017, Delhi:
- President Ram Nath Kovind on 14th November inaugurated the India International Trade Fair 2017 which would witness participation of about 7,000 exhibitors from across the globe.
- Set up in 1977, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) is the nodal trade promotion agency which works under the commerce ministry.
- This year, 'Startup India Standup India' is the theme of the fair.
- The 'Partner Country' is Vietnam and the Focus country is Kyrgyz Republic.
- The fair will remain open to the visitors from 9.30 am to 7.30 pm, on all days (November 14-27, 2017). The first four days are earmarked for business visitors.
- For general public, (November 18-27), tickets will be sold from November 18 at the metro stations. The entry tickets for general public, however, would be available at all stations, including on the Airport Express Line, except the Pragati Maidan Metro Station," the DMRC said in a statement.
- Business visitor registration counters will be set up at Gate number one (of Maidan) during the business days (November 14-17) and the tickets will be prices at Rs 500.
- From November 18, the fair will be open to all visitors with a ticket price of Rs 60 for adults and Rs 40 for children. However, on Saturday and Sunday as well as any holiday between November 18-27, the ticket price for adults will be Rs 120 and Rs 60 for children.
- The fair is being organised at Pragati Maidan by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) under the Commerce Ministry.
India jumps 30 places in World Bank's ease of doing business rankings
India climbed 30 positions in the latest ease of doing business ranking by the World Bank, in its Doing Business 2018 report released on Tuesday. The report ranks India at 100 among 190 countries. Last year, India was ranked 130. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said, India targets to achieve its position among the top 50 of the world Bank's report on Ease of Doing Business. The minister said, there is a huge scope for India to jump from 100th position in the coming months.
Mr Jaitley said, in ease of paying taxes, the country has jumped 53 places to 119. He said, India has done well this year in areas like resolving insolvency, reforms in taxation and providing electricity. He said, the country is still lagging behind in areas like building construction permits. Mr Jaitley said, the implementation of GST has not been factored in the report as it took facts and figures into consideration upto June.
India sends 1st wheat shipment to Afghanistan via Chabahar port
India on 29th October began shipment of wheat to Afghanistan through the Iranian port of Chabahar. A press release from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted that the consignment would be the first to use the new route via Chabahar to access Afghanistan, even as India plans similar transfers in the coming months.
The operationalisation of Chabahar will also boost India's efforts to conenct with resource-rich Central Asia and Russia. The shipment is a part of commitment made by India to supply 1.1 million tonnes of wheat for the people of Afghanistan on grant basis, according to a MEA statement. Six more wheat shipments will be sent to Afghanistan over the next few months.
The use of Chabahar for wheat transhipment indicates the firming up of an alternative route to extend necessary support to Afghanistan, in the absence of overland transit rights by Pakistan. The move also indicates that Chahbahar that India has been developing for some years, will soon be fully operational. India had earlier sent goods through the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas in 2003 as Pakistan had not eased land access to Afghanistan.
Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 in Hyderabad on 28-30 November
Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 to be held on 28-30 November 2017 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad, India. The Summit will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, who leads the U.S. delegation. The GES is the preeminent annual gathering of emerging entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from around the world. Through networking, mentoring, and workshops, the GES empowers entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build partnerships, secure funding, and create innovative goods and services that will transform societies. This year, the focus will be on women entrepreneurs and the tremendous potential women bring to entrepreneurship.
GES 2017 will create an environment that empowers innovators, particularly women, to take their ideas to the next level. Women represent tremendous promise for economic growth and prosperity -- but in both developing and developed countries, also face tremendous barriers to building businesses. This year’s theme is “Women First, Prosperity for All” to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in all its strengths and diversity. GES 2017 will be attended by over 1600 delegates, including entrepreneurs and investors, CEOs of major knowledge-based industries, representing the full measure of entrepreneurial talent from diverse backgrounds across the world. The participants will be truly global, representing 160 countries, with representation from every region of the world. Entrepreneurs will represent a diverse range of geographies, industries, business size and scalability. Investors and representatives from organizations that support entrepreneurs will be hand-picked to catalyze investment, networking and mentoring. There will be special emphasis on empowering young and women entrepreneurs and the role they play in making communities more prosperous and secure through enterprise.
For more information, visit www.ges2017.gov.in and www.ges2017.org
Kandla Port renamed as Deendayal Port
Kandla Port, one of the top 12 major ports in the country, has been rechristened as Deendayal Port from Monday in the name of Hindutva icon pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. “Kandla Port Trust is renamed as Deendayal Port Trust with effect from 25 September 2017,” the government said on 25th September 2017.
Kandla Port, located on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, is one of the twelve major ports in the country. As per the Ministry’s notification, the Central Government, in exercise of powers conferred on it under Indian Ports Act, 1908, made the amendment to replace “Kandla” with “Deendayal”.
Tata Sons appoints Eruch N. Kapadia as CFO
Tata Sons, the Tata group’s hoding company, has appointed group veteran Eruch N. Kapadia as its new chief financial officer (CFO). Kapadia, who is vice-president at Tata Sons and a member of the audit committee at Tata Business Support Services, assumed the new role following the retirement chief operating officer (COO) F.N. Subedar. Mr. Kapadia is a Tata Group veteran with more than 18 years of service in Tata Chemicals in different roles. Besides being a chartered accountant, he is also a cost accountant.
He will report to Tata Group CFO Saurabh Agrawal, who had joined the group in July this year from the Aditya Birla Group, where he was head of strategy. The group CFO position was created after N. Chandrasekaran took over as chairman of Tata Sons.
Google acquire Pixel Team of HTC in $1.1 Billion
Google Pays HTC $1.1 Billion to Acquire the Pixel Team, Not Own Their Smartphone Business. Google will also receive non-exclusive license for HTC’s intellectual property. HTC says many of the employees worked with Google to develop the Pixel smartphones. This is seemingly part of the search giant’s new hardware strategy, which is why it ended up acquiring part of another smartphone maker despite having previously acquired and then divested itself of Motorola’s mobile business.
Google didn’t acquire anything from HTC other than the talent that helped them make Pixel phones. At least that’s what the press releases from each company states. I’m trying to figure out how this doesn’t involve an HTC factory or two as well, but either way, Google now has an expert team of hardware makers in-house that they can leverage to hopefully become a real competitor in the smartphone game. On the other hand, HTC is going to continue doing what it has been doing.
PM Modi dedicates Sardar Sarovar Dam to the nation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia in Narmada district of Gujarat on 17th September 2017. Later, addressing a public meeting at Dabhoi in Vadodara district, the Prime Minister said lack of water resources has been a major factor in slowing the pace of development. He said the Project will be help full to bring prosperity among the people in new India. Mr Modi said through this project the Narmada water will not only benefit the farmers Gujarat but also those from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajashan. Mr Modi said, Sardar Sarovar Dam faced so many obstacles, but they were determined that the project will go on.
It has been a wait of 56 years for the project to be completed since 1961 when its foundation was laid. The project is expected to be a lifeline to the farmers of Gujarat in terms of irrigation. In 1996, the Supreme Court placed a stay on the dam's construction over the issue of displacement of people from affected areas but granted permission for construction in 2000. The height of the dam was recently raised to over 138 meters increasing its usable storage capacity to over 4.7 million acre-feet. The dam will benefit 15 districts and 19 lakh hectares of Gujarat. It will benefit up to 4 crore people by supplying drinking water to villages and towns through an elaborate canal and pipeline network. The dam, being constructed on the Narmada river, will be the second largest dam in the world.
GST Important Facts, History, Dates for Exams
Goods and Services Tax (GST), Bill 2017 Important Facts, History, Dates for Exams:
- GST begins its journey in year 2000, the Vajpayee government started a discussion on GST by setting up an empowered committee headed by Asim Dasgupta. He was the then Finance Minister of West Bengal.
- GST was letter discussed in the report of the Kelkar Task Force on Indirect Taxes in 2003. In 2005, the Kelkar committee recommended rolling out GST as suggested by the 12th Finance Commission.
- After the fall of the BJP-led NDA government in 2004, and the election of a Congress-led UPA government, the new Finance Minister P Chidambaram in February 2006 continued work on the same and proposed a GST rollout by 1 April 2010.
- In 2008-09, Kelkar Task Force gave a report on the draft of GST called 'A Model and Roadmap for GST in India' and the first discussion was done after the arrival of this report in November.
- In 2011, the 115th Constitution Amendment Bill was introduced for the levy of GST on all goods and services in the Lok Sabha.
- In 2013, the Standing Committee presented its report on GST and in November 2009, the proposal to include the government's petroleum products in GST was rejected by the Empowered Committee.
- Seven months after the formation of the Modi government, the new Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the GST Bill in the Lok Sabha, where the BJP had a majority. In February 2015, Jaitley set another deadline of 1 April 2016 which was postponed.
- After two years of waiting, Rajya Sabha passed the GST the on August 3, 2016 and received President's approval in September 2016.
- Assam on 12th August 2016 became the first state in the country to ratify the constitution amendment bill on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the assembly unanimously passed the bill.
- On 22 September 2016 GST Council was formed. This council will decide on tax rate for the new indirect tax system, the exemption given in it and its limits. The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is the Chairman of the GST council.
- In 2017, the government introduced four types of GST bills, including Central GST, Integrated GST, GST Bill of Union Territories and GST Bill.
- On June 20, 2017, Arun Jaitley announced that GST will be launched on the lines of the night of Independence, on the midnight of June 30. and GST bill come in to effect from 1st July 2017 in India.
- 101st Amendment w.e.f 1st July 2017 is done for Goods and Services Tax Act. It do Amendment of article 248,249,250,268,269,270,271,286,366,368,sixth schedule,seventh schedule and Deletion of Article 268An.
- GST is officially known as The Constitution 122nd Amendment Bill, 2014.
- GST Definition: Goods has been defined to mean every kind of movable property. Services have been defined as “anything other than goods”. If we go by the literal meaning of this definition, even immovable property will be treated as services for the purpose of GST. GST will ensure seamless flow of credit across the supply chain, thus overcoming the inflationary effects of cascading of taxes. Further, GST will open up the Indian economy to FDI by foreign investors who are reluctant to invest in India due to its complicated tax structure.
- GST Council in India has proposed a 4 rate structure with two standard rates – 12% and 18%. However there are total 5 tax slab availabe: 0 percent, 5 percent, 12 percent, 18 percent and 28 percent. Moreover there is a special rate of 0.25% on rough precious and semi-precious stones and 3% on gold. In addition a cess of 15% or other rates on top of 28% GST applies on few items like aerated drinks, luxury cars and tobacco products. the government may even levy a cess on sin goods over and above the higher rate of 28%.
- Presently, there are around 160+ countries that have implemented the GST or VAT in some form or the other. France was the first country to have introduced GST.
- India, being a federal country, is going to have a dual-GST structure – Central GST and State GST. The only other country with a dual GST is Canada.
- Lok Sabha in August 2017 passed the Central Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 and the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017. The two bills will replace the ordinances promulgated earlier in this regard to complete rolling out GST regime the Himalayan State.
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BRICS Summit 2017 Date, Theme, Venue, Important Facts
BRICS Summit 2017 Date, Theme, Venue, Important Facts:
- 9th BRICS Summit 2017 Venue is Xiamen which is located in east China’s Fujian Province.
- BRICS 2017 held under the theme “BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future,”.
- 9th BRICS Summit 2017 date is 3–5 September 2017
- 9th BRICS Summit “BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future” will be held in Xiamen, Fujian Province in September 2017 under China’s Chairmanship. Within the framework of the BRICS Summit the business program will take place in Shanghai and Xiamen (China) from August 31 to September 4, 2017.
- Panel discussions on the development of cooperation in key sectors of the economy of the BRICS countries will be held in the framework of the forum.
- The BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- 2017 BRICS summit is currently the 9th annual BRICS summit, an international relations conference attended by the heads of state or heads of government of the five member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- BRICS 2016 was hosted by India at Goa.
Rajasva Gyan Sangam 2017
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 1st September inaugurated the Rajasva Gyan Sangam 2017 at New Delhi, and addressed the tax administrators of both the Union and State Governments. The Prime Minister exhorted the officers to improve their work-culture, to incorporate both a "sense of urgency", and "measurability", in their performance.
The conference, jointly organized by the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Central Board of Excise and Customs. The main objective of the conference is to enable a two-way communication between the policy-makers and senior officers in the field offices with a view to increase revenue collection and facilitate effective implementation of law and policies in key result areas.
'I Do What I Do' Book by Raghuram Rajan
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has penned a book titled 'I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve'. Raghuram Rajan explains economic concepts and talks of issues like tolerance and connection between political freedom and prosperity in his new book. The book is a collection of essays and speeches during his stint as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor. The book will hit stores on 4 September, exactly a year after he quit as the RBI governor.
The book takes its name from Rajan’s famous quote on September 29, 2015 policy, when the RBI had cut rates by half a percentage point, surprising many. Rajan had taken over at a time when the Indian rupee had hit its lifetime low of 68.87 on August 28, 2013. Rajan’s predecessor Subbarao decided to use Rajan’s personality and international reputation to halt the rupee slide. The rupee bounced back and ever since then, has been strong, stable, and range bound.
Vishal Sikka has resigned as Infosys CEO and MD
Vishal Sikka has resigned as Infosys CEO and MD, a little over three years after joining the company as its chief executive on 18th August 2018. Long-time executive and COO U.B. Pravin Rao has been appointed the interim Infosys CEO as Vishal Sikka resigned with immediate effect. A former SAP top executive, Sikka joined India's second biggest software exporter in June 2014 in an effort by the company's board to infuse fresh blood at the top after co-founder S.D. Shibulal's term as chief executive ended. Despite giving up the post, Sikka will remain associated with the company in the capacity of Executive Vice Chairman.
Mr. Sikka cited among his reasons for leaving “a continuous stream of distractions and disruptions over the recent months and quarters, increasingly personal and negative as of late, as preventing management's ability to accelerate the company's transformation,” according to the statement. N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys, over the past couple of months, has raised issues of corporate governance and salary increases paid to Mr. Sikka and chief operating officer U. B. Pravin Rao. Mr. Murthy also wanted to make public a report on the investigations on buying Panaya for $200 million. The Board understands and acknowledges Mr. Sikka’s reasons for resignation, and regrets his decision, the statement said.
Rajiv Kumar is new NITI Aayog Vice Chairman
Economist Dr Rajiv Kumar is appointed the new vice-chairman of NITI Aayog on 5th August 2017. This comes five days after the incumbent vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya announced he was quitting the government think tank on 31 August to return to Columbia University. The government also appointed Dr Vinod Paul, a pediatrician at the AIIMS, as a member of the NITI Aayog, an official spokesman said.
Rajiv Kumar, who holds a DPhil in economics from Oxford and was a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and an author of several books on the Indian economy. He was also the chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics, Pune. Kumar also did stints at industry bodies like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, where he was the Secretary General, and Confederation of Indian Industry, where he served as the chief economist. But it is his books and articles that gained him wide prominence. Modi and his Challenges, published in 2016, was a text about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
