Shock and awe: Note ban, Jio launch, GST & other headline grabbers of 2016

Business Standard recaps the most prominent economic and corporate developments of the year

By almost any yardstick the year has been unique: Public policy, business rivalries and implosions, court verdicts and corporate malfeasance set new standards of shock and awe that will reverberate well into 2017.

Business Standard recaps the most prominent of economic corporate developments


Demonetisation

In terms of disruptive impact, this was a decision with few parallels in Indian policy-making. On November 8 evening, just as Donald Trump recorded an unlikely victory in the US presidential polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came on national television to announce the withdrawal of legal tender status to Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, taking roughly 86 per cent of currency out of circulation. Citizens were given time till

December 30 to deposit old notes, but draconian withdrawal controls were put in place.

It was not just ordinary Indians who were caught unawares by this decision, which was initially explained as a route to staunching black money and terror finance. The government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI), too, seemed unprepared.  For one, the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes required over 100,000 ATMs to be recalibrated, an exercise that could not begin till after the announcement was made in the interests of confidentiality. For another, the assumptions on which the decision was made played out so differently in reality, that 60 notifications have been issued over one and a half months imposing new conditions or reversing other ones.  

The Reliance-Jio launch

The Tata-DoCoMo controversy

Goods and Services Tax

The RIL-ONGC spat

Nikesh Arora’s exit from SoftBank

The Singur verdict

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Cyrus Mistry gives up the battle but set for a bigger war with Tatas

After a bitter eight-week boardroom battle against Ratan Tata’s “illegal coup”, ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry on Monday quit from the boards of six listed companies, including Tata Motors and Indian Hotels. He vowed to shift his fight to a “larger platform” as the “coercive action taken by Tatas against various stakeholders was making him uneasy”.

In an interview to Business Standard, Mistry promised to take his fight against the Tatas to a legal forum but did not give details. “In the past eight weeks, I saw a lot of coercive action from the Tatas towards shareholders, debt holders and employees, which is making all the three uncomfortable. In various representations to shareholders, I had said it was not about me or about my position. My resignation proves that," Mistry said.

He would, however, continue to remain a director on the board of Tata Sons. The announcement of Mistry’s resignation came after he attended a “routine” Tata Sons board meeting during the day. Monday’s board meeting brought Mistry and his former mentor, Tata, in the same room for the first time (since October 24) but they did not speak to each other, according to sources.

“The interests of employees, shareholders and other stakeholders of the Tata group would be better served by (me) moving away from the forum of extraordinary general meetings (EGMs),” Mistry said in a two-page letter. “But, the time has come to take matters to their logical conclusion. I will work on protecting the interests of the Tata group and realising the vision of our founder Jamsetji Tata, until my last breath,” he added.

"Mistry can move the National Company Law Tribunal against Tata Sons for oppression of small shareholders. He can also move the Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) if he has information that the Trusts had indulged in inside-trading or did not follow corporate governance norms,” said R S Loona, a Mumbai-based corporate lawyer. (more)

Nano serious drain on financial resources: Full text of Wadia's letter to shareholders of Tata Motors

Nusli Wadia charged Ratan Tata of making investments in loss-making UK operations at the cost of Indian operations

The spat between Tata Group and Mistry camp appeared to be escalating with industrialist Nusli Wadia shooting off a letter to Tata Motors shareholders, rubbishing all allegations levelled against him by the board.

Ahead of Nusli Wadia's removal in the December 22 "extraordinary" general meeting, the independent director of Tata Motors Ltd (TML) said that the Nano small car has proved to be "a serious drain on the financial resources" of the company.

In a presentation to shareholders, he said that the company was burdened with "heavy debt" and has a "substantial funding requirement for its future strategy".

This is the second time that Wadia is writing such a letter, after having shared similar views with shareholders of Tata Steel.

Here is the full text of Wadia's letter:

Tata Motors Ltd. Esteemed Shareholders, I come before you today in the most unique of circumstances. The notice that has been sent by Tata Sons for my removal as Independent Director has been with you for some time.

I. MY ASSOCIATION WITH YOUR COMPANY

I was invited to join your Company as a Director almost two decades ago based on my association with the late JRD Tata, my mentor and godfather. Whatever little I have learnt, and the values that I have tried to imbibe, are those that he gave me. The most important value that he taught me was that when one enters a Board Room, you leave your shares at the door, irrespective of whom you represent. He encouraged the freedom of thought and expression. If any member of the Board disagreed with JRD he not only respected it but appreciated it. He never expected anyone to toe his or "the Tata line". He never admonished anyone for being independent. This is what Mr. JRD Tata practised. It is both sad and unfortunate that Tata Sons and its interim Chairman Ratan Tata are not only not practising this great tradition but effectively destroying it. I have always acted as an Independent Director, long before it became a requirement to do so under any law. In July 2014, I was once again appointed as an Independent Director upto 14th February, 2019. My appointment in 2014 was with an overwhelming majority of more than 92% of the votes cast (including those of Tata Sons). I have served your Company independently for 18 years and I now stand accused of having lost my independence over events that transpired in less than 1 7 days. Read more.