Biztro

1. Bad Times Continue For Dlf

Despite all the talk of a deal to placate the powers-that-be in New Delhi, real estate behemoth DLF continues to face rough weather. In a public humiliation, founder K.P. Singh, his daughter Pia and son Rajeev were barred from participating in the securities markets by SEBI, which did find “serious contraventions” in their Rs 9,100-plus crore IPO of 2007. This comes soon after the company appealed against an order of the Punjab and Haryana HC cancelling a 2010 allotment of 350 acres to it. On September 17, even the SC upheld a 2011 Competition Commission order that fined DLF Rs 630 crore. The only bit of good news, for now:  DLF and Robert Vadra formalised their Manesar deal a week ago.

2. NREGA Warriors Hit Back

Is it the intention of the Modi government to undo the bargaining power NREGA gave workers in rural India? What else can explain the steady attempt to dilute the provision of the Right to Employment Act that offered a viable option to escape pove­rty and hunger through unskilled and semi-skilled employment? What was once touted as the largest employment generation programme in the world is today facing an uncertain future, fear leading economists, both in India and overseas, who in a letter to the PM have urged a rethink on attempts to restrict the programme to 200 backward districts in the country. 

3. Maruti Goes Through A Churn

The Japanese may swear that it is ‘Kaizen’ but at India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki, the churn in its human resources has been rather tilted towards its Indian executives. First it was a virtual sidelining of some of the company’s top executives—COOs of production and HR and administration—from their job portfolios and then the exit of some high-profile executives (including marketing and sales head Mayank Pareek, who joined Tata Motors). These have raised a big question mark on the HR practices of the company. The company’s Japanese chief says that the time has come for a change to survive in a tough market. But the fact that this ‘Kaikaku’ is restricted to Indian officials is raising eyebrows.

Math

23,519 Number of employees in Reliance Industries, which has launched an ‘internal constitution’ and a ‘Reliance Management Services’.

Two-pizza rule
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has a two-pizza rule of management: teams should only be as big as to be serviced by two pizzas.

The mobile future
A snapshot of mobile growth

30.7% The proportion of underweight children in India last year, sharply down from 45.1% in 2005-06, according to GOI and UNICEF data.

Mojo

What does this burger remind you of?

McDonald’s black-and-white burgers, recently launched in Japan, are not just cosmetic offerings aimed at the Halloween market. Bamboo charcoal has been used to blacken the Ikasumi burger, or “squid ink burger”, and squid ink sauce gives the patties flavour. On the white side, there’s Camembert Chicken Fillet.

Mind

This week we leant about…Brandy Melville

This obscure Italian brand is the hottest thing in teenage retail, according to a new study. And here’s the irony: the company (which sells things like tiny crop tops and slouchy sweaters) has only 18 physical stores in the US. But thanks to e-commerce, it is the No.1 brand teen girls say they will wear (according to Piper Jaffray’s survey on teen spending). The products are researched by about 20 teenage girls who pick up the styles (which, incidentally, are in one-size-fits-all). Of course, Brandy Melville models, all teens, are huge on Instagram.