Summary
The Home Stretch
Is the government trying to make up for lost time with its packed economic agenda for the next four months? Ashish GuptaSee the full content of this document
Extract
Business News
The last-quarter sprint is a well-known phenomenon in the corporate sector. Companies, large and small, try to make up for all their lapses in the first three quarters of the year by trying and growing their revenues (sometimes earnings) at any cost. Some loosen their purse strings and burn money on advertising; others launch sales promotion campaigns; and still others play around with numbers, smartly recognising future revenues through present entries in their books.
The United Progressive Alliance government is currently engaged in a similar exercise and it won't be the first government to do so. Previous governments have had public sector companies declare special dividends (this one has gone down that road too), or acquire holdings in each other (holdings acquired from the government at a substantial premium, of course) in an effort to make their numbers look impressive (sorry, respectable).Exhibit A in any arguments for would have to be the packed economic agenda for the winter session of Parliament that started on November 23. The list includes the Pension Fund Regulatory Mechanism Bill, the National Tax Tribunal Bill, the Factories Amendment Bill, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill and the Unorganised Sector Workers' Bill. By December 23, when the session comes to an end, the government would want to have at least some of these bills passed. The problem with last quarter sprints is that any legislative action they involve (and the current sprint requires lots such) could be blocked by the opposition parties, especially if they have some ammunition, and the recent controversy surrounding former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, the Congress Party and oil from Iraq is definitely potent ammunition.If all goes well, the UPA will begin January having convinced its key allies, the communist parties, to agree to the sale of part of the government's stake (an insignificant part, actually) in some public sector companies and banks. Some of the money arising from this, around Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore, could help jump- start the National Investment Fund which will bankroll ambitious development programmes such...See the full content of this document
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