Roti, kapda, mobile aur makaan
The Asian Age, August 28, 2015

By Pradeep S Mehta

In 1974, a blockbuster movie was released highlighting the basic necessities of man, Roti Kapda aur Makaan. If the same movie was to be remade today, the title would have added another necessity as “roti, kapda, mobile aur makaan”. Needless to say, mobile phones have become a standard companion for people. Mobile phones, in a lot many ways, have made life easier. Now it is easier to contact people whenever and wherever you want, you can message friends, stay live on social networks, do shopping, call in cabs and click selfies and share them and what not. Not only that but the government has launched the JAM trinity to empower the poor in the country, where J stands for Jan Dhan (financial inclusion), A stands for Aadhaar (identity) and M for mobile telephony. More...

Restoring law and order in Parliament
The Hindu Business Line, August 21, 2015

By Pradeep S Mehta

“The monsoon session of the parliament was washed out due to flooding of the well of the house,” says the contemporary weekly hoarding of Nana Chudasama on Marine Drive in Mumbai. This hoarding, carrying thoughtful remarks on contemporary issues, is an icon of Mumbai broadly reflecting the public sentiment. This sentiment has been echoed by none else than the President. The President is empowered, under Article 86(2) of the Constitution, to send specific or general messages to either house of Parliament. More...

A new competition law enforcement paradigm
Financial Express, August 17, 2015

By Pradeep S Mehta

One of the biggest movie grosser of recent times, Baahubali, was produced in Telugu and dubbed in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi, and will perhaps be also done in French, Mandarin and Japanese. Fortunately, exhibition of dubbed Indian language versions was not prevented by powerful film and TV bodies, else Bahubali may not have broken records. In a first of its type, the film and TV trade bodies in Karnataka who were blocking dubbing of popular films and serials were hauled up by the Competition Commission of India in a complaint by a consumer group: Kannada Grahakara Koota. More...

A national competition policy for India?
The Asian Age, August 11, 2015

By Pradeep S Mehta

The power sector continues to remain in the news every other day because of the shortage that affects our economy hugely. Recently, business chambers, along with private sector power equipment companies, were howling that the government utilities are patronising BHEL for power plant orders without inviting tenders. More...

A financial idea whose time has come
The Hindu Business Line, August 07, 2015

By Pradeep S Mehta

The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) was set up in 2011, with a mandate to rewrite and clean up the financial sector laws and to bring them in tune with current requirements. It drafted an Indian Financial Code, to regulate the financial sector, and submitted the draft Code to the government in March 2013…The FSLRC and Code gels well with the other reform initiatives the government has been working on…Consequently, the Code must be urgently adopted as, in the words of former PM Manmohan Singh, it is an idea whose time has come, and no power on earth must be allowed to stop it!.. More...