The
next issue of morning Trekk will be published on Monday, 23rd October.
=================
Thought
for the day
I'm living so far beyond my income that
we may almost be said to be living apart.
—E. E. Cummings (American, 1894-1962)
Word
for the day
Pestiferous (adj)
Bringing or bearing disease.
Malice
towards none
Though media did not follow it closely,
but Gurdaspur was a bitterly and intensely fought battle, which Captain won
comprehensively.
Another wake up call for both BJP and
AAP.
First
random thought this morning
An (in)famous BJP leader from Western UP is exhorting
the government to erase Taj Mahal from history of India. He reportedly claimed
that it's a blot on Indian culture. His reported position is, "The creator
of Taj Mahal (Shahjahan) imprisoned his father. He wanted to wipe out Hindus.
If these people are part of our history, then it is very sad and we will change
this history".
Someone needs to tell him, without wasting anytime,
that we can't just wish away our history. It is what it is - good or bad. All
that you can do is to learn from it, so that mistakes are not repeated. However
if he must erase all rulers and people in position of power who tortured/killed
their family members for power and/or wealth, it will be a great news for all
school children; for they will be left with only blank pages in their history
books.
In defence of MNCs
I am not a regular TV watcher. I have also reduced my
social media interactions by almost 80% in recent past. For my view and
strategy I am therefore completely reliant on what I see with my own eyes and
feel with the weight of my own wallet.
Last week, waiting for my flight at airport, I watched
a program featuring Patanjali promoter. He was sounding like a warlord. Mincing
no words, he avowed that all MNC players in Indian markets will get annihilated
very soon.
He implied that his commercial venture is torchbearer
of a larger Swadeshi (self reliance) movement taking place. This movement shall
chase away all MNCs, like HUL, P&G, Colgate, who have plundered wealth from
Indian consumers for over a century.
The allegation is that these companies are plundering
money from Indian consumers and taking it abroad to benefit their parent
organizations.
I am shocked to note that no one in the government
(which appears keen on MNCs investing in India by making India a better, easier
and safer place to invest and do business); various business and industry
associations (who are duty bound to protect the interest of their members and
ensure a level playing field); Supreme Court (who is very vigilant these days);
and a variety of other regulators and administrators, have made any murmur of
concern over this.
I have noticed that Patanjali marketing campaigns are
also overwhelmingly based on (a) an emotion appeal on grounds of patriotism and
Swadeshi; and (b) materially better quality of Patanjali products as compared
to the products of MNCs.
Insofar as the quality of products and use of
"dangerous" chemical etc. is concerned. I am not competent to comment
on this subject. Though I tried to figure out and could not find much
difference in the ingredients of Patanjali tooth paste and Colgate Herbal
toothpaste.
However, I do have an observation to share on the
issue of plundering money from Indian consumers.
In my view, the owners of a corporate entity can get
money from the entity only in two forms - dividend and return of capital.
Return of capital in normal course occurs only if business is wound up (ignore
buy backs etc for a while).
An analysis of some companies with top foreign
holdings suggests that foreigners own more shares in the companies popularly
perceived to be "Indian" rather than those condemned as MNCs.
As per the available record of last dividend paid (FY17),
top 9 MNCs paid Rs5848cr as dividend to their foreign shareholders, where as
top 13 perceptibly Indian companies paid Rs16050cr as dividend to their foreign
shareholders.
Against a dividend remittance of RsRs5848cr, MNCs
incurred Rs9775cr as employee cost, which is paid predominantly to Indians.
Besides, these MNCs sourced most of their raw material from India, got their
products manufactured by Indian contractors (mostly SMEs).
They also support an extensive distribution and
logistics chain providing jobs to millions of Indians.
Many of these MNCs have put India on global roadmap,
in terms of quality of products, technology, innovation and even export
markets. For example, Maruti Suzuki has helped thousands of ancillary units
(mostly in SME space) to grow and register their presence in global arena. HUL
has cultivated many managers that have grown to become global leaders.
So, I am aghast at the allegation of Patanjali
promoters and their intention to annihilate these MNCs.
The Swadeshi champions may also note that if these
companies decide to wind up their businesses, sell their assets and take the
money home, the outflow will be much larger than what would possibly they remit
as dividend in next 20years. The consequent job losses would be catastrophic.
It
is only appropriate that the government should come out and explicitly state
its stance on this issue.
( P.S.: I have shared my observations. I am not
interested in any debate or arguments on this issue. Comments and rejoinders
are totally unwelcome.)
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