A winning merger

June 29, 2008 on 4:52 pm | In Newspapers, Times of India | No Comments

For some years now I have been on the board of Ranbaxy and have watched with admiration as the company transformed itself into India’s first real multinational. I have seen it inspire a dozen other companies and helped create a world class generic drugs industry that is feared by the Western giants for aggressively challenging their patents and admired for lowering the cost of medicines around the world. How then was I to respond to the announcement by Ranbaxy’s CEO, Malvinder Singh that he wanted to sell his family’s stake for Rs 10,000 crores to a Japanese company, Daiichi Sankyo? The family was equally shocked. A CEO’s ability to keep months of negotiations secret in a country afflicted by verbal diarrhoea speaks to the company’s character.   Continue reading…

Deceits of our political class

June 15, 2008 on 4:11 pm | In Newspapers, Times of India | No Comments

Another election has come and gone. As the dust settles in Karnataka, Election Watch, a civil society watchdog, has reported that 40 out of the 224 winning MLAs have a criminal record. Of those who contested three were brothers–all of them criminals. To make sure one succeeded the brothers obtained tickets from different parties. The bet paid off–one was elected. Continue reading…

Go on, Save the deal

June 1, 2008 on 1:19 pm | In Newspapers, Times of India | No Comments

Lal Krishan Advani is a lucky man. Fortune has given him the chance of a lifetime. He can save the historic Indo-US nuclear accord and grow in stature from a politician to a statesman. Less than four weeks remain, after which the treaty will die. The Left has no room for manoeuvre, but the BJP does. If Advani seizes the day and persuades his BJP colleagues, he will go into history as the “white knight” that saved India’s energy and security future. He would also take a giant step to fill the large shoes of his predecessor, and become more worthy in the eyes of NDA’s coalition partners. Continue reading…

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