E-commerce players are suddenly not as cool as they used to be. It has been a tough week for some leading lights. Softbank’s Nikesh Arora faced tough questions from investors on his decision to invest in two leading Indian e-commerce players, Snapdeal and Housing. Then, desi Internet shopping giant Flipkart was skewered by Founding Fuel’s Haresh Chawla, who said it was in danger of losing the race to Amazon. No wonder, you now see entrepreneurs shaking their heads disapprovingly while talking about the indiscipline—money spent on discounts, TV commercials etc—that came with the exuberance a year ago. The premium is apparently now on being level-headed.
The Modi government’s decision to purge the healthcare sector of foreign-funded consultants has been in the works for a while. Many are drawing parallels with this government’s earlier clampdown on NGOs. But government sources insist the latest salvo from the very top is driven by a conscious decision to control the cartel of policy-wonks and MNC pharmaceutical players. Speaking anonymously, a top healthcare consultant pooh-poohed this “conspiracy theory”, but agreed that the tribe tends to dictate terms and influence policies. Of course, this will lead to its own set of challenges, given the demand for specialists.
