Articles by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

While the Bharatiya Janata Party claims the Congress has been trying to deflect allegations of corruption against it by highlighting controversies relating to Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, the many allegations levelled against the management of this state government company are serious. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation should think hard before deciding to partner GSPC.

The formation of India’s largest telecommunications group with Idea Cellular and Vodafone coming together indicates that Reliance Jio’s competitors are feeling the heat. The business rivals of Reliance Jio believe that the company influences policies and appointments. The Idea–Vodafone merger may lead to cartelisation which will not benefit consumers in the medium term.

The authors would like to clarify that the first paragraph in the “Conclusions” section (p 40) should have read as follows: “The DRI filed an appeal against the CESTAT order in the Supreme Court on 6 April 2016, which was eventually disposed of on 22 July 2016. The Ministry of Finance now has to file a review petition against this decision. The question that remains unanswered: what has dissuaded the ministry from filing this review petition even though more than five months have gone by?” This is the corrected version of the article.

The corporate conglomerate headed by Gautam Adani has been accused by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence of having allegedly evaded taxes and laundered money to the tune of around ₹1,000 crore while trading in cut and polished diamonds and gold jewellery. The DRI has claimed that companies in the Adani Group misused export incentives and indulged in high-velocity circular trading through a complex web of front companies located in different parts of the world. The government seems strangely reticent about filing a review petition in the Supreme Court that could protect its revenue interests.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party claims the Congress has been trying to deflect allegations of corruption against it by highlighting controversies relating to Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, the many allegations levelled against the management of this state government company are serious. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation should think hard before deciding to partner GSPC.

The Supreme Court has ignored evidence of apparent forgery and auction-rigging while dismissing a petition seeking to quash the government's decision permitting Reliance Jio to provide voice telephone services over fourth-generation spectrum. The company, headed by India's richest man, has also failed to meet its roll-out obligations. The apex court should review its decision.