Crying foul: That's what Wipro's Kumar's doing

Wipro Biomed has taken Beckman Coulter, a us-based manufacturer of bio-medical testing instrument systems, with which it had a distribution arrangement, to court (the case was filed in the Delhi High Court. But now, according to an agreement, arbitration proceedings are taking place in Switzerland). Pratik Kumar, Corporate VP (HR), Wipro, alleges that Beckman violated a non-poaching contract when it decided to go it alone in India. "We had invested in people and they were poached. It's illegal in light of the understanding we had." Wipro wants E18million (Rs 108 crore) in damages from Beckman.

Vinayak Sanjay Urs, Director, Plakon Consulting, a recruitment and consulting firm, says this is only a precursor to more such litigations. "There is a gross mismatch between supply and demand of hr talent. So, companies are increasingly entering into non-poaching agreements with each other. They are also asking employees to give undertakings that they will not join a competitor." Adds Kumar: "It takes Rs 25,000-1 lakh to train a call centre associate. Imagine what will happen if they just walk away to join a competitor."

But aren't such agreements a violation of an individual's right to earn a livelihood? Sajjan Poovayya, Head of law firm Poovayya & Co., says: "The contract is enforceable if it is between two companies. It is not enforceable if it is between an employee and a company." He cites a number of instances like the Century Spinning Mills case where courts have upheld an individual's right to earn a livelihood.

But with just the Big Three of Indian IT-TCS, Wipro and Infosys-expecting to recruit nearly one lakh people over the next 12 months, the war for talent may end up in the courts of law.

-Venkatesha Babu

Proxy Battles
The CAB elections were all about reforms.

All's not well: Between Basu (R) and his successor

Is there more to the just concluded elections in the Cricket Association of Bengal (cab) than cricket? The subterranean buzz in Kolkata's Left circles is that there is. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's uncharacteristic outburst-he termed Jagmohan Dalmiya's win over his hand-picked nominee, Kolkata Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, "a victory of evil over good"-is believed to stem from his frustration over some senior party colleagues blocking his efforts at reforming the state's economy. Coincidentally or otherwise, the same cabal of powerful Left leaders who opposed his intervention in the cab polls-Jyoti Basu, Subhash Chakraborty, both from the CPI(M), Kshiti Goswami, RSP, and Nanda Gopal Bhattacharya, CPI-also oppose his proposals to acquire agricultural land for industrial and real estate projects and allow private parties to modernise the Kolkata airport.

Basu was quick to snub his successor. "I do not know if one can make such remarks about a democratically elected person," he said in reaction to the controversial remarks. His protégés also jumped into the fray. "As a sports lover, the outcome of the cab elections was not at all unexpected to me. The way the administration was used to garner support for Mukherjee was unprecedented and unacceptable," says Chakraborty, the state sports minister.

Bhattacharjee is learnt to be upset with Dalmiya, not because Sourav Ganguly is out of the national team but reportedly because of disputes with his construction firm, M.L. Dalmiya & Company, over commissioning the Bantala Leather Complex. The contract was given out by the Jyoti Basu government. "He has many interests... vested interests... All interests other than cricket," the Chief Minister said, adding: "I will not compromise with this man. The battle will continue. I want him to leave this post. I want him to leave the organisation." The battle has forced CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat to issue gag orders on state party leaders.

-Ritwik Mukherjee

Cricket's Leap of Faith
ICC plans to position it next only to football.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, is estimated to have raked in close to $3 billion (Rs 14,100 crore) in revenues from the recently concluded Soccer World Cup 2006. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is also aiming to make $1 billion (Rs 4,700 crore at the current exchange rate) over the next four years from the sale of various rights. Its main revenue source is the sale of global television rights ($612.18 million or Rs 2,877 crore), followed by sponsorships and various new media rights. Now, compare this with $550 million (Rs 2,585 crore) earned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the nodal cricket body, during the 2000-07 cricket calendar from the sale of two of its most prestigious and popular properties, The World Cup Cricket and The Champion's Trophy, and it is clear that ICC hasn't been particularly pro-active in monetising its properties. But that is about to change.

The apex cricket body has, now, set itself an ambitious agenda. There is no formal announcement regarding this as yet, but informal talks with various ICC executives, who have been shuttling in and out of India in connection with the marketing of World Cup 2007, suggest that ICC will now market the game more aggressively and engage more non-traditional nations (at present, the ICC has 10 permanent Test-playing members, 32 associate members and 55 affiliate members) to expand its footprint. "We certainly cannot compare ourselves with soccer which is more popular worldwide, but, by gradually increasing the number of playing nations, we are hoping to pitch cricket as the second most popular sport in the world," says a senior ICC executive. Already, plans are being drawn up to include two new events (a 20-20 series and Women's World Cup) in its calendar.

It is also taking a leaf out of BCCI's book. "We are quite impressed with the way BCCI has monetised the sport. We also need to augment our revenues and can learn a lesson or two from BCCI," he adds. ICC expects at least a 100 per cent increase in its revenues over the next (2007-2015) season. The tenders for the grant of rights will be opened some time in October this year. And it insists that the Indian market will remain cricket's centre of gravity. "The Indian sub-continent provides three-fourth of cricket eyeballs and sponsorships now. It will continue to dominate the market," the executive says.

Meanwhile, preparations for the World Cup 2007 are in full swing. ICC has already roped in Hutch, Pepsi, LG, Hero Honda, Cable & Wireless, Visa and Indian Oil Corporation as its main sponsors.

-Archna Shukla

Pesticides in Cola 2.0

Cola wars: A battle for survival

Will Coca-Cola India and Pepsico India have to reveal the list of ingredients in the packaged drinks they sell in India? An NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, has filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court, seeking judicial intervention to force the cola giants to do so. The matter is expected to come up for hearing in September. Both companies declined to respond to e-mails sent by Business Today on the controversy.

This is just the latest twist to the three-year-old saga over the alleged presence of pesticides and other harmful ingredients in the two popular soft drinks. According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which is at the forefront of the campaign against the cola giants, the US and the European Union have stringent regulatory norms to safeguard against any contamination which manufacturers have to adhere to.

"Unfortunately, there is no such provision here," says Kushal P.S. Yadav, Coordinator (Pesticide Comparison and Health Safety Unit), CSE. "Though the standards for carbonated drinks have been finalised, these have not been notified by the government. The ministry of health seems more concerned about the health of companies than the health of the people," says Sunita Narain, Director, CSE.

The battle continues.

-Amit Mukherjee