1. Brother Versus Brother In Court
Lawyer brothers Shroff, Shardul and Cyril have landed in a courtroom battle themselves, fighting it out over a decade-old family agreement and later over the will of their mother, who died in August. Older brother Shardul got all his mother’s shares and assets in the will. Younger brother Cyril, it is understood, distributed those shares equally as per the family agreement. The Shroffs have now engaged a battery of high-profile lawyers to determine their control over Amarchand Mangaldas Shroff & Shroff, India’s largest law firm. The day-long courtroom drama attracted every lawyer around, and ended with three mediators—JM Financial founder Nimesh Kampani, SC advocate Harish Salve and retired justice B.N. Srikrishna.
2. Is It A Wto Deal Or Sharp Spin?
So, India and the US took a step forward in working out a “permanent solution” to the issue of public stockholding for food security at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Indian papers went to town, with the ET saying “India rejoices” as the US had taken a u-turn in the talks. In a series of tweets, Financial Times’ world trade editor Shawn Donnan presented a completely different line: “All in all the tweaks on food security are minor and symbolic rather than substantive. And they were offered to India months ago.” In fact, he says India has “backed down from September threat not to allow the trade facilitation agreement until a permanent solution was found on food security.” So, whose spin is right?
3. ADAG Slinks Away From Mumbai Metro
Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Infrastructure’s foray into metro construction and operation doesn’t seem to be working. Out of three projects it got started on, only one has got operational without it wriggling out of commitments. Now, the second phase of the Mumbai Metro has run into problems, with Reliance Infrastructure, which holds 48 per cent in the consortium implementing the project, accusing the Maharashtra government of not fulfilling its commitment to provide the land free of encumbrances and deciding to quit the project. The state government does not seem to be too upset, as it plans to go ahead with the project on its own.
Math
125 mn People who visit the Twitter homepage each month, but leave the site without signing up. Coming soon: an “instant timeline” to serve such users.
What are rural India’s main investments?
- 49.36% Housing
- 44.03% Jewellery
- 3.49% Electronics
- 2.24% Livestock
- 0.62% Vehicle
% age of total assets;
Source: IMFR study in Indiaspend.org
And their bank balances?
$4.18 bn India’s gold imports in October 2014 saw a four-fold increase from October last year. It surged in the last two months to touch 150 tonnes last month.
Mojo
Are Chia seeds the next big super-food?
These little seeds packed with minerals and fibre are being touted as the next super-food. The Omega 3-laced seeds are also seen as the weight-loss wonder food as they expand in water and make people feel “full”. More on that later.
Mind
This week we learnt about…Banker Weddings
It’s the month for power weddings for Mumbaiwallahs, with two top bankers hosting weddings. First up is Siddhartha Parekh, the younger son of HDFC Ltd chairman Deepak Parekh and his wife Smita. The three-day wedding from November 27 to 29 in Jodhpur’s Umaid Bhawan palace will see Siddhartha say ‘I-do’ to his long time English-American girlfriend Claire O’Neil. Siddhartha, like his older brother Aditya, chose a career away from HDFC; O’Neil has been working with the Taj Hotels and Resorts as their director for loyalty partnerships. Also tying the knot are ICICI head Chanda Kochhar’s daughter Aarti and Aditya Kaji, a Reliance executive. Mumbai’s excited!
