Reluctance to reform: Does Singh belong?

Is Manmohan Singh the weakest prime minister ever? His decision to put disinvestments on hold conclusively proves it, claim those who say Singh holds office but does not rule. It is now clear that the Prime Minister's Office, which was the fount of power under previous administrations, wields little authority. The Prime Minister's capitulation was a knee-jerk reaction to DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's threat to pull out of the United Progressive Alliance government if it went ahead with its decision to sell a 10 per cent stake in the public sector Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC).

This isn't the first time that Singh has buckled under pressure. He has not been able to prevent Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav from instituting a separate inquiry into the Godhra carnage; he was caught totally unawares when Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh unilaterally announced reservations for OBCs; and he was unable to prevent the political shenanigans of his party colleagues in post-poll Bihar and Jharkhand.

It is a sad comedown for a man who, as the architect of economic reforms, can claim to have played a central role in lifting India's stature in the world. To be fair to him, he heads a minority regime that depends critically for survival on the support of its allies. And despite this, he has managed to push through contentious measures like the Indo-US nuclear deal, the privatisation of Mumbai and Delhi airports and the entry of single brand foreign retail chains. But his periodic statements reiterating his resolve to press ahead with economic reforms now sound shallow. Singh came into the country's highest executive office by chance. He has another three years to prove that he deserves to be there.

-Aman Malik

NUMBERS OF NOTE

15 million: Number of people living in Mumbai, two-thirds of them in slums

$2.6 billion (Rs 11,960 crore): Net inflows from foreign institutional investors in the first six months of 2006, down 42.7 per cent from $4.54 billion (Rs 20,430 crore) in the corresponding period last year

80 per cent: Share of pirated software programmes in the Chinese PC market. China is the world's leading source of illegally copied music, and movies, and counterfeit designer clothes and other goods

9: The number of Indian CEOs out of 17 in L.N. Mittal's A-team. Nine of his 16 corporate directors are Indians

46 per cent: The proportion of private businesses owned by women in the US

$800 million (Rs 3,680 crore): The amount spent on the biggest cruise ship ever built. The Royal Caribbean-owned 160,000-tonne Freedom of the Seas can accommodate 4,375 passengers

35 per cent: Proportion of India's population that lives on less than $1 a day, which is comparable to Bangladesh's 36 per cent and much worse than Pakistan's 17 per cent

$260.3 billion (Rs 11,713.5 crore): Total amount gifted to charity in the US in 2005

660,000: Number of individuals who made high value purchases in 2005-06; of these, only 184,980 people declared their permanent account number as required by law; the remaining 475,019 people did not

5: The number of Indian firms that figure in the annual BusinessWeek list of top 100 infotech/telecom companies. The companies are Bharti Airtel, TCS, Infosys, Satyam and Wipro

130 million: The number of visitors per year that China will attract by 2010, according to the World Tourism Association

Over 5 million: Sales of personal computers in India in 2005-06, a 32 per cent growth over the previous year

NOTED

ANNOUNCED: By Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata, a decision to raise his group's stake in Tata Steel by 7 per cent to 33 per cent to ward off any future takeover threats.

PLANNED: By Volvo, the launch of two cars in India during the fourth quarter of this year. The company says it will introduce its S80 and XC90 models through three dealerships it will establish.

REOPENED: The historic Nathu La Pass linking Sikkim with Tibet on Thursday, July 6, 2006, after a gap of 44 years. This is expected to faciliate the expansion of trade between India and China.

SIGNED: By the UB Group, an agreement with French wine major Taittinger to buy 150-year-old vintner Bouvet-Ladubay, one of Europe's most respected wine producers for m15 million (Rs 87 crore). UB Group had, earlier this year, bid unsuccessfully for Taittinger itself.

PROPOSED: By billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, a three-way partnership between General Motors, Renault and Nissan. The Nissan board of directors has deputed its CEO Carlos Ghosn to hold exploratory talks in this regard with the US auto giant.

DIED: Kenneth Lay, disgraced founder of the now bankrupt Enron Corporation, of heart attack in Aspen, Colorado. He was 64. Lay, who was convicted in May for spearheading the fraud that brought Enron down, was due to be sentenced in October.

PLANNED: By the Bombay Stock Exchange a 26 per cent sale of equity to a strategic investor. A further 25 per cent will be offloaded through an initial public offering by May next year, says Rajnikant Patel, CEO and MD, BSE.

PROPOSED: By the urban development ministry, a realty regulator to monitor the price rise in the real estate sector. Also planned are state regulatory commissions on the lines of electricity regulatory commissions. The government will introduce the Real Estate Management Regulation and Control Bill, containing these provisions, in the monsoon session of Parliament.

OBITUARY ARUN KUMAR

Arun Kumar, 58, a former Chairman of India's National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), and president and CEO of Flextronics Software (formerly Hughes Software Systems, this is now 85 per cent owned by buyout major KKR), died of a cardiac arrest on July 7. When Kumar signed on with HSS in 1995, it was a 50-employee operation; today, it is a 5000-employee one. An avid golfer, and a regular at the annual PRO-AM tournament organised by this magazine, Kumar was holidaying in the US, in San Diego, at the time of his death. Kumar was an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, and in September 2000 was shortlisted for Ernst & Young's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award. The soft-spoken Kumar was popular with employees; HSS was twice named a best company to work for in India by this magazine. "Arun Kumar was always willing to spare time for the industry and came forward to help us even after he completed his term in 2003," recalls Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom. "He has mentored several young start-ups."