Accountancy
On top of on-line
YOU MAY not want to be an e-entrepreneur, but no accountancy practice can afford to ignore the potential of the Internet business.
Short-changing small shareholders
THE Companies (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999, introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 23, 1999, has been modified to ensure its general acceptance. Opportunity has also been taken to incorporate some suggestions made by the Working Group set up by the Gov
ernment in 1997 all of which enrich the vocabulary whether or not they actually contribute to the growth of the corporate sector. thus, the Act appears tougher than it actually is.
Unsold goods
THERE is a change at the helm of the ICAI and I would be missing my friend's message in the CA journal. It is no gupt gyan that the new incumbent, Gupta, is not too well known to be communicative -- much less understood -- unless his speech-writers churn
up some miraculous stuff now that he is in the hot-seat. At least, till then, here is some straight deal from the January issue.
Corporate
MNCs are no less Indian
ARE MNCs any less Indian than Indian companies? This question may sound blasphemous and anti-Indian, but wait a moment before passing judgement on it. Let us, for instance, take two companies -- Cummins India and Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd (KOEL). Both bu
ild engines, cater to the same market, have similar applications and service an almost identical customer base. Both make profits and are located in Pune. After taxes, they hold something in reserve for future plans and distribute the rest to their share
holders.
Economy
Is the Vajpayee Government really pro-poor?
THE chief purpose of the public distribution system (PDS) is to make foodgrains available to the economically weaker sections at affordable prices. However, it took decades for the political bosses to realise that the system needs to be restructured to t
arget supplies primarily to the poor. With this recognition, the then Prime Minister, Mr H. D. Deve Gowda, introduced, in June 1997, what is now known as the TPDS.
Railway Budget 2001 -- Will it run on prudence track?
COURTING controversy and being obdurate on issues dear to her are nothing new to the firebrand leader of the Trinamul Congress, Ms Mamata Banerjee. In keeping with her credentials as a simple leader with wider appeal and mass base, the Railway Minister,
Ms Mamata Banerjee, has already kicked off a row by taking exception to the statement made by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that Railways have to necessarily raise fare and freight in the 2001-02 Rail Budget.
Editorial
Sops for SEZs
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN the Ministries of Commerce and Finance over the tax sops for Special Economic Zones may once again lead to undesirable delays and uncertainties in the development of such zones. It is rather surprising that within a week of the an
nouncement by the Commerce Minister, Mr Murasoli Maran, about the Government's plan to offer a package of tax benefits for the SEZs, the Finance Ministry has expressed its reservations against open-ended tax sops.
Miscellaneous
The savvier Indian woman
WELCOME to the 21st century, when most of those ``connected'' people can claim they are cyber-citizens or citizens of the world. As geographical boundaries come crashing down while you surf the Net, it doesn't matter if you are powerful or meek, rich or
poor. If you have something sensible to say, people will listen.
The winds of change
EVER since the economic reform process began, it has been fashionable to criticise the policies followed by Jawaharlal Nehru. There is, of course, much merit in these arguments; he was a dreamer and not an economist. Not surprising then that he made a ha
sh of things and we are still trying to find a way to get out of the mess.
