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GREECE MAY SEEK 24 BN EUROS IN FIRST TRANCHE
Congress negativism hurting
Indias economy, rues Jaitley
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: With the consti-
tutional amendment Bill for
rolling out GST held up due to
Congresss resistance, fi-
nance minister Arun Jaitley
on Sunday hit out at the main
opposition party arguing that
the concerns raised by it now
did not exist when Pranab
Mukherjee piloted the legis-
lation or when P Chidamba-
ram proposed it in 2006.
It was the Congress-led
UPA government that pro-
posed GST in the 2006-07 bud-
get. The Constitution amend-
ment was piloted by the UPA.
The changes suggested by the
empowered committee (of
state FMs) and the (parlia-
mentary) standing commit-
tee were accepted by the UPA
government. The present
government has not made
any significant modifica-
tions to the same except to
bring a consensus between
manufacturing and the con-
suming states. The state gov-
ernments belonging to the
Congress party have consis-
tently supported the propos-
al. Is it only out of an obstruc-
tionist attitude that the
Congress party has adopted a
negative role? Jaitley said in
a Facebook post while offer-
ing a response to all the issues
raised by Congress.
The government is keen
that the Bill is passed during
the current session of Parlia-
ment as a further delay will
result in a fresh postpone-
ment of the deadline beyond
April 2016. But Parliament
has not been able to function
as Congress and other opposi-
tion parties have blocked
transaction of business de-
Big brands
want to ride
IPTL frenzy
John.Sarkar@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Its not only tennis
greats like Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal who will slug it out
in New Delhi during the second
edition of the International Pre-
mier Tennis League (IPTL) later
this year. Some of the worlds
biggest brands will also try to
piggyback on the frenzy.
Apart from last years spon-
sors that include Audi, FedEx,
Coca-Cola, Micromax and Qatar
Airways, who have all come
back for the second season of the
IPTL slated to start in Japan on
December 2, new sponsorship
tie-ups are on the cards, say IPTL
organizers. While entry of team
Japan has added to the flavour,
new activations and promotions
are being lined up to ignite pas-
sion. For instance, a black-tie sit-
down dinner with marquee
players can fetch upwards of Rs
125 crore, says Indian Aces co-
owner Gulshan Jhurani. Last
year, title sponsor Coke owned
this property. This year, we have
the option to host it. We will be
talking to private banks for din-
ners and after-party events with
players. They usually book these
events for their top employees
and clients. Similarly, they can
sell select seats too, said Jhura-
ni. Nadal will play for Indian Ac-
es, while Federer will represent
UAE Royals this year. Jhurani
said luxury lounges will be cre-
ated for players that may have
tie-ups with brands such as Per-
rier and Incredible India. Exclu-
sive umpire chair rights will al-
so be sold for the first time and
brands such as Mercedes-Benz
and Jaguar could be roped in.
Audi is the transport partner for
the event and will provide luxu-
ry cars to ferry players and VIPs.
Interestingly, Kei Nishikori, a
rising tennis star of Japan, who
will be playing for Japan War-
riors, is the brand ambassador
for Jaguar in his home country.
For the official clock, Jhurani
says talks with Hublot are on the
cards, since Rolex, which spon-
sors Federer, is the official time-
keeper for Wimbledon.
Tennis always manages to
rope in premium brands across
the world, says brand expert
Harish Bijoor. With some of the
top players in the world partici-
pating in IPTL, its no wonder
that these brands would want to
join in. Brands supporting indi-
vidual players will also get expo-
sure in other markets. Nishiko-
ri and Novak Djokovic, who will
be representing Singapore
Slammers, are brand ambassa-
dors for Japanese high street lei-
sure brand Uniqlo, which has
plans to enter India. Japans par-
ticipation this year would get
many brands interested, says
Mahesh Bhupathi, founder and
MD of IPTL.
THE TIMES OF INDIA, HYDERABAD | MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015
LLOYD BLANKFEIN-LED GOLDMAN SACHS AGREES TO
OF BAILOUT AID FROM INTERNATIONAL LENDERS PAY $270 MILLION TO SETTLE LAWSUIT BY INVESTORS
Nestle now
to focus Startups, SMEs tardy
on new
products
New Delhi: Hit by ban on
in protecting patents
alcohol for human consump- its Maggi instant noodles, Lubna.Kably@timesgroup.com TO-DO LIST FOR COs employment agreement. Upon
JAITLEY JOTTINGS tion within the ambit of the
bill, Jaitley said, This was
Nestle India which report-
ed its first quarterly loss in Mumbai: Recently, a startup Make watertight
filing of patents, employees are
named as inventors but Wipro
employment
Economic injury: The not a proposal mooted by any over three decades, said the found to its dismay that the pat-
agreements to
is named as owner. Patent
Congress party should accept of the Congress finance min- company will consider in- ent created by its employee was rights are transferred by the
isters. A consensus with the troducing new products, in- not owned by it. The founders ensure intellectual employees through assign-
and seriously introspect after states would be effectively were unaware that under the property belongs to co ment documents. As part of the
cluding under the Maggi
having ruled the country for broken if this suggestion of brand, while looking to Indian Patent Act, 1970, the in- Assignment of patents process, employees also receive
the longest period of time, the Congress is accepted. Pet- drive growth of other cate- ventor of the patent is the first by employee-inventor to substantial rewards and recog-
that negativism hurts roleum has been included in gories with increased ad- owner. the employer nition, explains Inderpreet
the country. Should its the GST but the GST would be vertising spending. Additional heartburn was Sawhney, senior vice-president
Adequate security measures
obstructionist tendencies levied and charged on the The company's newly caused as the employee was &general counsel, Wipro.
to prevent leakage and misuse
product only when the GST appointed managing direc- quitting to join a competitor. In addition, Wipro edu-
inict an economic injury Council so decides. Similar- tor, Suresh Narayanan, who Fortunately, a counter-offer
of intellectual property
cates its employees about the
on the country? ly, he said the additional levy officially took over the role helped retain him. Patents spectrum of IP risks through a
of up to 1% that manufactur- on Saturday, said at a media fetch a higher valuation and series of classroom and online
At this rate: The rates of taxation are usually ing states could levy was briefing that bringing Mag- now this startup, which is yet to trainings and mass mailers.
not xed in the Constitution... The rates have to agreed upon through consen- gi back to the market was at access venture capital funding, Various automated controls
be recommended by the GST Council depending sus in the empowered com- the top on his five-point is conducting a legal audit and are in place to mitigate IP risks.
on factors such as economic conditions, revenue mittee. agenda. When asked if the strengthening agreements These include real-time moni-
buoyancy etc and incorporated in GST laws. There He also said the Con- company will consider in- with its employees. toring of all ports for prevent-
gresss demand for reducing troducing an alternative Under the Indian Copyright ing data leak, open source audi-
may be some rationale in the rate recommended by ts, automated backup
the Centres say in the GST snacks category under Act, 1957, the employer owns
the Congress party. However, this decision has to be Council to one-fourth, from Maggi brand, he said: If it the copyright to material creat- mechanism, and asset sanitiza-
taken by the GST Council and cannot be part of the one-third proposed currently, all makes sense, why not? ed by an employee during his tion, to name a few, adds Saw-
Constitution itself. The rates will vary depending on was contrary to the decision He, however, added it would employment (unless otherwise hney.
a host of factors taken by Chidambaram in depend on whether those specified in the employment Vaibhav Parikh, partner at
April 2013 and may result in a products are commercially contract). However, the legal po- international legal counselors
manding resignation of BJP nomic activity. Responding to situation where the states get viable. In Maggi itself sition is quite different under Nishith Desai Associates, says,
chief ministers Vasundhara Congresss demand on stipu- together and decide that the there are couple of ideas on the patent laws. In order to pro- A three-layer protection offers
Raje and Shivraj Singh Chou- lating an 18% ceiling on GST Centre should have a lower which we are working. In tect and own patents, compa- adequate safeguards to the
han as well as foreign minis- in the Constitution amend- GST rate, impacting its fi- other products categories nies need to ensure that the pat- Unfortunately, many fledging company. The employment
ter Sushma Swaraj, arguing ment bill, Jaitley said it did nances. India is a Union of there are couple of ideas ents are assigned to the entrepreneurs and small- and agreement should provide that
that they have shielded for- not figure in either the bill pi- States. Is it the Congress pro- that we have got, he said. company by the employee (who medium-sized enterprises all IP created will belong to the
mer cricket administrator loted by Mukherjee, or dur- posal that the Union should The company reported a is the inventor). The terms and (SMEs) realize this a bit too late, company. It should also include
Lalit Modi and those involved ing Chidambarams negotia- cease to economically sur- standalone loss of Rs 64.40 conditions of this assignment cite industry watchers. Anin- a clause that the employee will
in the Vyapam scam in Mad- tions with the empowered vive? Is it their proposal that crore for the quarter ended agreement needs to be detailed, dya Sircar, AVP & head of IP cell assign all future IP (created in
hya Pradesh. committee of state FMs. The the Centre should have no say on June 30, 2015, as against a containing all the terms and at Infosys, says, For all patents the course of employment) to
Jaitley said he had taken rates of taxation are usually in the system of national tax- net profit of Rs 287.86 crore conditions governing the filed with the Indian Patent Of- the company. Lastly, a power of
to social media to argue his not fixed in the Constitution, ation? The Congress appears during the April-June quar- rights and obligations of the fice, Infosys is the applicant and attorney clause, if built in, en-
points since Parliament has more so when we live in a dy- to have made this proposal ter of financial year 2014-15. parties involved. the respective employee is the ables the company representa-
not functioned and said the namic world. The rates have without adequate application Reiterating that Nestle While every company is inventor. Additionally, an as- tive to sign all documents on be-
plan was to simplify the com- to be recommended by the of mind. spends maximum amount aware of the need to protect IPR signment form is duly execut- half of employee that are
plex indirect tax structure, GST Council depending on Similarly, he trashed the on R&D worldwide, he said (intellectual property rights) ed between the employee and required to perfect the assign-
reduce the cascading effect of various factors such as eco- suggestion that supply there are a number of pro- such as patents we still have the company as per the require- ment of IP.
multiple taxes, reduce a key nomic conditions, revenue should not apply to goods and jects currently underway. companies and employees ments of the Indian Patent Act. When it comes to compen-
impediment in the seamless buoyancies etc. and incorpo- services supplied by one unit The Maggi ban has affected treating this issue lightly. How- Such provisions are built in the sating the inventor-employee
transfer of goods and servic- rated in the GST laws, he of a firm to another unit of the sales of other categories too ever, the scene is changing and application forms that accom- for assigning the patent, laws
es across the country, cut added. same unit of the firm on the and the company was look- we see legal measures adopted pany the patent specification differ from country to country.
down transaction costs Rejecting the Congress de- grounds that there will be no ing to drive growth of those by some companies who in- during filing. This applies and Netherlands provides that com-
broaden the tax base through mand for inclusion of elec- cascading effect as credit will categories, he said. clude strict clauses in employ- is followed for both current and pensation should be awarded if
tax compliance and boost eco- tricity, tobacco products and be given. For me what is going to ment contracts. Some compa- ex-employees. the inventor has not already
be the key focus is on grow- nies also provide that an Wipro has a comprehensive been compensated for the pat-
ing some of other catego- employee cant join a competi- framework to protect its IP in- ent in his salary, pecuniary al-
RBI unlikely to cut ries as well. We have got
presence in dairy, presence
in coffee and beverages and
we have got presence in
chocolate and confectioner-
tor for a certain duration of
time, says Suresh Raina, ma-
naging partner, Hunt Partners
(India), an executive search
firm. Multinationals and large
terests. This framework com-
prises of two distinct parts com-
prising of legal agreements
and physical controls. To be-
gin with, all employees assign
lowance or any other extra re-
muneration. France, on the
other hand, requires that com-
pensation must be awarded for
all employee inventions that the
rates, say bankers
Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com trol prices by bringing sis points during the cur-
ies as well. There are oppor-
tunities there, Narayanan
said. PTI
companies are aware of the le-
gal nitty-gritty which needs to
be in place to protect their IP.
IP rights of all materials creat-
ed during the course of employ-
ment to Wipro by virtue of their
employer owns. The UK calls
for compensation in exception-
al circumstances.
down the prices of petrol rent fiscal. However, banks
Mumbai: Bankers see a and diesel. However, econo- would need to bring down
one in four chance that Re- mists feel that the Reserve their deposit rates before
serve Bank of India gover- Bank of India is likely to cost of funds come down for
nor Raghuram Rajan will wait and see how food pric- borrowers. It is only when
cut interest rates in the es move. the banks reduce their de-
forthcoming monetary pol- We expect the RBI to posit rates that they can re-
icy review on Tuesday. maintain an unchanged vise their base rate, said
Bankers are of the opinion stance in next weeks poli- Sukthankar.
that deposit cy review, though While speaking to re-
rates will have we are not giving porters on the banks re-
to come down up hope yet for an- sults on Friday, ICICI Bank
before a reduc- other 25 basis managing director & chief
tion in lending points rate cut in executive officer Chanda
rates. this financial Kochhar indicated that the
There is a year, said Taimur bank would wait for depos-
75% possibility Baig, chief econo- it rates to come down be-
of the status mist, Deutsche fore reducing lending
quo being main- Bank (100 bps = 1 rates. If there is a reduc-
tained and a percentage point). tion in the cost of funds, we
25% probabili- Our base case will pass it on to the bor-
ty of a reduc- is for no more rate rowers. We are clear that
tion in the poli- cuts. However, if we will be maintaining our
cy rates, said WILL HE, WONT rains remain non- current spreads, said
Uday Kotak, MD & HE? Raghuram disruptive and the Kochhar.
CEO, Kotak Ma- Rajan RBIs 6% inflation Baig said, While food
hindra Bank. He target for January price related uncertainty
added that while 2016 is within reach, lingers, there is little to
deposit rates needed to space for a final 25-bp cut in worry about in other seg-
come down for cost of funds Q4 could open up, but not ments of the consumer
to fall, administered inter- much more, said Pranjul price index. Fuel prices
est rates on the govern- Bhandari, chief econo- have declined sharply; late-
ments small savings mist, HSBC. ly, transportation cost and
schemes were holding up According to Paresh rents have eased, and a
rates. Sukthankar, deputy MD, still-wide output gap has
The government on Fri- HDFC Bank, there is a pos- caused a decline in pricing
day sent a signal to the RBI sibility that the RBI may power in services and man-
that it will do its bit to con- cut policy rates by 25-50 ba- ufacturing.
Rajan is RBI guv, but some notes
carry Subbaraos signature maintained that the notes have not been re-
Sidhartha@timesgroup.com jected and that they would be dispatched as
soon as RBI issued instructions, the CAG has
New Delhi: You would normally expect the noted that there was a very remote possibil-
bank note press to know who the RBI gover- ity. Going by the auditors account, the Dewas
nor is. But, it has now emerged that at least press did not follow instructions. On Septem-
one of the press continued printing currency ber 14, 2013, 10 days after Rajan took charge,
notes bearing D Subbaraos signa- the Bharatiya Reserve Bank
ture even in February 2014, al- Note Mudran Pvt Ltd the
though Raghuram Rajan had taken agency for issuing designs
over in September 2013. and printing places had is-
If the norms had been followed, sued a specimen note of Rs 10
all notes printed from January 2014 with the new governors sig-
should have come with Rajans sig- nature and asked the press in
nature something that the Bank Dewas as well as Nashik to
Note Press Dewas failed to do and collect security material to
went ahead and printed as many as begin printing. A month lat-
372 million pieces of currency er, it also informed the press
notes from January to February 25. LEAVES BEHIND HIS about the approval for ma-
In fact, a recent report by the Comp- SIGNATURE: Former RBI chine proof of Rs 50, Rs 100
troller & Auditor General (CAG) governor Subbarao and Rs 500 notes with Rajans
has revealed that it remitted 146 signature. The norm is to put
million pieces to RBIs regional of- the new governors signature
fices, which asked the press not to send notes on notes that are printed from January.
with the former governors signature. As a re- While the Nashik press followed instruc-
sult, it is now saddled with over 226 million tions, Dewas somehow got it wrong and it
pieces of bank notes of Rs 20, Rs 100 and Rs woke up to the mistake only after RBI offices
500, which cost close to Rs 37 crore. rejected the new notes with the previous gov-
Although Bank Note Press Dewas has ernors signature.