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India Today
22-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Jagan Mohan Reddy says Andhra liquor scam front to protect Chandrababu Naidu
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy launched a sharp attack on the Andhra Pradesh government, dismissing the liquor scam allegations against his government. He claimed the alleged liquor scam during his tenure was a deliberate political ploy by the TDP to divert attention from Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's ongoing legal to the media at a press conference on Thursday, Jagan accused Naidu of orchestrating a campaign to harass officials and weaken the cases against the latter, particularly the liquor scam, for which Jagan said Naidu was currently out on bail. 'It is a fact that, in an attempt to weaken the cases against him, to implement a similar kind of operation in this term, Chandrababu Naidu has targeted YSRCP,' he highlighted that of the 20 distilleries in the state, 14 received licences during different periods under Naidu's tenure as Chief Minister, while the remaining six were granted by previous governments, none under YSRCP rule. 'YSRCP didn't even employ one of the 20 distilleries,' he said, questioning, 'Who is the real scamster? Isn't Chandrababu Naidu the real scamster?' Jagan further alleged that during Naidu's 2014-19 government, liquor sales were rampant, driven by permit rooms and belt shops, with sales constituting 3.84 per cent of the market, compared to 3.32 per cent under YSRCP. He also pointed to revenue per case of Indian Made Liquor (IML) and beer, which stood at Rs 2,623 in 2018-19 but rose to Rs 5,649 in 2023-24 under his administration, signalling more transparency and described the liquor market during the TDP's rule as controlled by a private mafia, dominated by five distilleries responsible for 69 per cent of liquor production and supply between 2015 and 2019. He asserted that the Competition Commission of India had cleared the YSRCP's liquor policy, confirming it did not violate competition laws or restrict market to new, unfamiliar liquor brands such as Sumo, Kerala Malt, Shot whisky, Bangalore whisky, Bangalore brandy, Old Club brandy, and Good Friends emerging under the current regime, Jagan questioned whether these were evidence of a private mafia thriving once also accused Naidu of rigging liquor tenders to favour a syndicate of five distilleries, increasing production capacity, and waiving privilege fees, resulting in a loss of Rs 5 crore to the state exchequer. 'His involvement is on paper, which makes the case strong,' he also criticised the current government's targeting of individuals like Dhanunjay Reddy, retired Revenue Divisional Officer Krishna Mohan, and businessman Balaji Govindappa, alleging these moves were politically motivated. 'Just because Govindappa is linked to Bharti Cements and Jagan, he has been targeted,' Jagan said, noting that Govindappa is a core-time director of Vicat, Europe's sixth-largest cement lamented the arrest of senior officials, including a Director General-level Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, describing it as unprecedented and vindictive. He accused the government of harassing low-level employees and unrelated persons to create an illusion of concluded by announcing June 4 would be observed as 'Betrayal Day' to expose the government's failures. 'There is an undeclared emergency going on in the state,' he said, promising to release detailed data on arrests, atrocities, and corruption Watch IN THIS STORY#Andhra Pradesh
Mint
22-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Competition: We must raise the CCI's tooth-to-tail ratio
India's new-age antitrust regulator turned 16 recently, bravely battling the symptoms and causes of its troublesome teens. The Competition Commission of India (CCI), the country's post-autarkic inheritor of a role once played by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission, was born with a lag. The CCI was created by the Competition Act of 2002, more than a decade after India opened its economy to global rivalry, but became fully operational as an antitrust watchdog only in 2009; it was bogged down by court cases against its founding. Also Read: Decoding the Supreme Court's decision: Implications for India's merger control regime It found itself hobbled by a conflict between its mandate to enforce a modern competition law—one that seeks to address abuses of market dominance, other anti-competitive practices and hurdles erected against free and fair forces of rivalry—and illusions within India Inc of a free-market turn in economic policy spelling a free-for-all in terms of business conduct. Government controls over it, especially through the selection of its chair, placed its independence in a grey zone. As an institution, it struggles with gaps in capacity that make it harder to foster a market system that's always just to all participants and never loaded against the consumer. Also Read: What the overhaul of India's merger control regime means Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's address on the CCI's 16th annual day offers some key markers for the regulator's journey into an uncertain future. While she outlined the importance of its basic role, the minister emphasized a need for it to strike a balance between its regulatory alertness and the cause of securing the economy's growth impulses. A resilient, equitable and innovation-driven economic framework would become increasingly indispensable if the economy had to depend more on domestic growth levers in the face of adverse trade winds and steep energy-transition pathways. The CCI's task has been complicated by a globalized digital economy full of monopolies, to handle which she said global cooperation was required. She flagged the risk of value erosion due to delayed clearances and reminded us that India's regulatory efficiency was under global watch. Sitharaman's speech also alluded to her budget-speech mention of light-touch regulation that trusts economic agents to abide by rules as they deliver on productivity, job creation and other variables to drive up India's output. It is true that over-regulation gets in the way of enterprise. Yet, the CCI can hardly be faulted on that score. As far as antitrust goes, it has long been clear that the regulator needs to be more effective. Most visibly, the country seems to have little relief from the impact on airfares of an oligopoly in our aviation market. Also Read: Why CCI matters for protecting customers from digital players The CCI's core operations need an upgrade. Perceptions of its weak tooth-to-tail ratio have persisted, which only makes it harder for it to keep corporate abuse of market power in check. There have been various reports of how the CCI has been unable to collect the monetary penalties it imposed as part of its job, primarily due to perverse incentives available in challenging CCI decisions. In any case, the CCI faces numerous legal suits, which is not a surprise given how often courts have ruled that its actions trespassed on the turf of other regulators; the Competition Act's prerogative over other economic laws (or lack thereof) is clouded in ambiguity. Also, the CCI's bench-capacity inadequacy must be addressed right away. The economy must expand as fast as it can, no doubt, but it cannot afford to let the CCI trail market dynamics. Digital complexity alone demands antitrust urgency.
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Business Standard
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Bajaj Finserv shares gain 2%; among top gainers on Sensex; here's why
Bajaj Finserv share price gained 2 per cent in trade on Wednesday, logging an intraday high at ₹2,045 per share on BSE. The demand for the stock came after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the acquisition of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, and Bajaj Allianz Financial Distributors by Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Holdings & Investment, and Jamnalal Sons. "We are pleased to inform that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has accorded its approval on May 20, 2025, for the acquisition of a stake in Insurance subsidiaries along with the promoter and promoter group company," the filing read. At 12:17 PM, Bajaj Finserv shares were up 0.92 per cent at ₹2,020.8 per share on the BSE. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was up 0.22 per cent at 81,362.42. The market capitalisation of the company stood at ₹3,22,886.1 crore. The 52-week high of the stock was at ₹2,134.45 per share and the 52-week low of the stock was at ₹1,419 per share. In March, post the above preliminary discussions, Allianz SE expressed their intent to exit the insurance joint ventures and has offered to sell their entire holdings aggregating to 26 per cent equity stake in each of the insurance joint ventures to the Bajaj group. The board approved the acquisition of a 26 per cent equity stake owned by Bajaj Allianz in its insurance companies, viz. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited with participation by the promoter and promoter group entity of the company, namely, Bajaj Holdings and Investment Limited and Jamnalal Sons Private Limited. A share purchase agreement was hence signed. According to the filing, the company would be acquiring from Allianz, 11,13,295 equity shares of ₹10 each in Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company at ₹4,808.24 per share and 15,22,161 equity shares of ₹10 each in Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company at ₹2,654.12 per share, amounting to 1.01 per cent equity stake in each of the companies. With the above acquisition, Bajaj group would be holding 75.01 per cent of the total equity share capital in each of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. The acquisition was subject to regulatory approval.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
CCI okays Temasek Holdings minority stake purchase in Haldiram Snacks Food
The Competition Commission of India on Tuesday approved Singapore's Temasek Holdings proposed acquisition of a minority stake in Haldiram Snacks Food . Temasek Holdings through its arm Jongsong Investments Pte is acquiring a stake in the target company. "The proposed transaction entails the acquisition of less than 10 per cent of the issued and paid-up equity share capital of the target ( Haldiram Snacks Food Pvt Ltd) by the acquirer (Jongsong Investments Pte)," the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in a release. Haldiram Snacks Food is the combined business of the two fractions of the Haldiram family - Delhi and Nagpur. The National Company Law Tribunal has already approved the process of merger of the two fractions, while other regulatory approvals are awaited. "Commission approves the acquisition of certain issued and paid-up equity share capital of Haldiram Snacks Food Pvt Ltd (target) by Jongsong Investments Pte Ltd (acquirer)," it added. Established in 1937 as a retail sweets and namkeen shop in Bikaner, Rajasthan by Ganga Bhishen Agarwal, Haldiram products are now sold in over 80 countries. In 2022, it was announced that the packaged snacks businesses of Delhi-based Haldiram Snacks and Nagpur-based Haldiram Foods International would be first demerged and then merged into an entity named Haldiram Snacks Food. In a separate release, CCI on Tuesday approved the acquisition of majority stake/control over Nazara Technologies Ltd by Axana Estates LLP , Plutus Wealth Management LLP and Junomoneta Finsol Pvt Ltd. Axana is an LLP incorporated in India. Axana currently does not undertake any business activities or hold any investments and its proposed business involves real estate and business of dealing in shares and securities and other financial instruments. "Commission approves acquisition of majority stake/control over Nazara Technologies Ltd by Axana Estates LLP, Plutus Wealth Management LLP and Junomoneta Finsol Pvt Ltd," the competition watchdog said. Plutus is engaged in the business of stock and commodity broking, trading and investments in stock, commodities, and related businesses and Junomoneta Finsol is engaged in the business of proprietary stock broking and trades in equity, commodity and derivative markets. Nazara functions as a diversified platform in gaming and sports media. Additionally, it is active in the skill-based real money gaming segment and is also engaged in esports events and offers a multi-sports content platform catering to sports enthusiasts in India and the United States. Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keep a tab on unfair business practices as well as promotes fair competition in the marketplace.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Regulatory clearance delays can lead to uncertainty: FM Sitharaman
NEW DELHI: Delays in regulatory clearances can lead to uncertainty and disrupt commercial timelines, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday as India negotiates trade deals with various countries, including the US. According to Sitharaman, also the corporate affairs minister, it is imperative that regulatory frameworks, while maintaining rigorous oversight, also facilitate swift and seamless approvals for combinations that pose no harm to competition. At a Competition Commission of India (CCI) event, Sitharaman said the regulator has emerged as a key institution in safeguarding the spirit of liberalisation while checking its excesses and stressed that competition drives efficiency, nurtures innovation, and benefits consumers. Delving into the aspects of competitive markets, the minister said that not only business conduct but also govt policies, laws and regulations should not influence competition as she mentioned that entry barriers, licensing norms or procurement rules can also create distortion. In today's interconnected and fast-paced global economy, Sitharaman said delays in regulatory clearances can lead to uncertainty, disrupt commercial timelines, and potentially erode the intended value of transactions. "Globally, it has an impact even as we negotiate free trade agreements with different countries because the ability, the nimbleness and the readiness of regulators is very keenly watched by investors... "So, whether it is litigation, whether it is time consumed in litigation or when regulators are less transparent, negotiations can get complicated," the minister said. India is negotiating trade deals with various countries and blocs, including the US and the EU. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
