During the year-long agitation in 2020-21, the farmers gave a call to boycott Ambani and Adani. Now they have given a call to Observe Corporate Quit India Day on 9th August 2024. They have valid reasons as Corporates are running the country today.
The scandalous, extravagant and notorious ways of displaying wealth for a marriage which lasted for 3 months, in India, on Cruise ships, in Switzerland (where the hotel owner refused to serve the guests because of their indecent behaviour), the beeline for the rich and famous across the world, echoed the corporate culture of the neo rich who do not care for the poor, middle class and even the upper middle class.
The judgement of the Swiss court against the Hindujas with a four-year jail term for exploiting their Indian employees in their Geneva villa is just a small example of how the neo-rich behave and treat labourers.
Two of the richest, the Adanis and Ambanis control almost the entire economy of the country and the politicians. They have become major players in agriculture and want to control the entire agricultural supply chain. That’s why the farmers announced a boycott in the 2000-21 agitation which lasted for more than a year and more than 750 farmers became martyrs.
Please read the articles, Why Boycott Adani and Why Boycott Ambani published in 2020 Finance Matters. (Why boycott Adanis? Dec, 16,2020 and Why Boycott Ambanis? Dec 28, 2020)
The situation has worsened in the three to four years,
Today the entire country is controlled by a few corporates and Multinational Consultants who have influence even over the judiciary which is protecting them against the laws of the country. Agriculture is controlled by Monsanto, Bayer, BASF, Godrej, Reliance, Adani group etc.
These corporates have no loyalty to the Constitution or the Nation. The false nationalism displayed is just a show to extract the wealth of the nation.
They are in no way different from some of the ruthless kings of the past or the British who looted this country. At least the kings had some accountability and the British did a few things which at least helped the country in terms of infrastructure. These selfish people only care for their agents in the RSS and the BJP. They will switch loyalty if the power structure changes. When needed they will switch sides to support the other parties.
Let us analyse some of corporates and their hold over the economy and politics of the country.
The Market capitalisation & GDP
|
Adani Group of Companies |
$ 206 billion |
| Reliance Industries Limited | $ 269 billion |
| Tata Group | $ 396 billion |
| Infosys Ltd | $ 83 billion |
| Bharathi Airtel | $ 101.75 billion |
India’s GDP is $3385 billion as of 2022. Just five companies have almost one-fourth of India’s GDP as their worth. Tatas are not termed as the richest as the shares of Tatas are held by trusts which are also charitable trusts spending huge amounts every year for various developmental and charitable activities. Latest reports show that Ambani owns 10% of the GDP.
Let’s see the influence of the Ambanis and Adanis.
Houses of Mukesh Ambani
Antilla, Mumbai- 27-story 568-ft house worth Rs.15000 Crore ($2 Billion). It is the second expensive residence in the world next to Buckinghamshire Palace, London where the Queen of England lives. The size is 4 Lakh St.ft, has 3 helipads, 168 Car Garage, swimming pools etc.
- Ancestral Home, Chorwad –Worth not known
- Abode, Mumbai. – Rs.5000 Cr
- Sea Wind Mumbai – Rs.7000 Cr
- Palace Jumeirah Villa, Dubai -Rs. 640 Crore. Dubai’s biggest-ever residential property
- Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire, England –Rs.529 Crore in the heart of England
- Mandarin Oriental, New York –Rs.2000 Crore property in the USA
Would you call him an Indian or a foreigner?
The listed Companies
The Companies listed under Reliance Empire are Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Reliance Industries, Jio Financial Services, Network 18, Reliance Foundation, DEN Networks, Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd, Just Dial, Reliance Retail, Reliance Power, TV 18 Broadcast, Alok Industries, Reliance Petrochemicals, Relicord, Reliance Petroleum Ltd, Reliance Life Sciences, Mumbai Indians, Sterling and Wilson, Jio Payment Bank and more than 404 subsidiaries. The Reliance was started only in 1957 and today it’s worth Rs.19 lakh crores. The area of operations are Energy, Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Textiles, Polymers, Polyesters, Fiber Aromatics, Retail, Digital Services, Media & Entertainment, Consumer Electronics, Grocery, Fashion & Lifestyle, Pharmacy, Education, Agriculture, Smart Ethics, Healthcare, Hydrogen power, TV, Film, Magazines and Newspapers.
In Petrochemicals, they are the monopoly that took over Indian Petro Chemicals Ltd(IPCL) which was a leading Public Sector company. Reliance Retail Stores has 18040 outlets across the country and their registered customer base is 24.9 crores. Jio provides Wireless Coverage across 620000 Villages. Reliance group has 389414 employees. They claim to be the leader in many of the above fields. Their one-year Profit in 2022-23 is Rs. 73670 crore and the Value Added in 2022-23 is Rs.357668 crore. The annual report for 23-24 is still not accessible. Mukesh Ambani is a Member of the Advisory Committee of Cop28, which decides what is to be done for Climate Change. So you can understand whose interest he will serve.
Many of the group’s stores and companies do not have the Reliance name attached. So you won’t know whose products and services you are using. Tira -Beauty segment products and saloons in Mumbai, Metro Malls, Campa Cola, GAP, Pret a Manager, Lotus Sosyo, Maliban, and Toffeeman are some of them. Their International collaborators are, CISCO, Meta, Google, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Nokia, Samsung, and NTEL to name a few. The first Hydrogen Refuelling Station, Jamnagar belongs to Reliance.
Jio Studios is their movie production platform. The Network 18 and other networks have more than 58 TV channels and entertainment. They also have newspapers and magazines. First Post and Money Control are theirs. So they decide what you should see, know and watch. To understand how they decide the policies of the Govt, Banks and the country please have a look at their Board of Directors.
- K.V Kamath- Former MD ICICI Bank
- Adil Zainulbhai- Former Chairman, Mckinsey & Co
- Raminder Singh Gujral, Former Finance Secretary & Chairman NHAI
- Arundhati Bhattacharya, Former CMD SBI
- Yasir Othman H. AI Ramayyan, Chairman, Saudi Aramco
- K.V Chowdary, Former Central Vigilance Commissioner & Former Chairman, CBDT
- Nikhil R. Meswani, Member, Board of Trade, Ministry of Commerce.
- Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, Former Chairman of CSIR is heading the New Energy Council of Reliance and was on its Board.
Reliance has also partnered with Denmark’s Stiesout As to manufacture Hydrogen Electrolysers in India. Reliance also has a collaboration with Israel through Labs/02, an Israel Innovation Authority. It has entered Artificial Intelligence in a big way. Its total assets as of 22-23 Rs. 1607431 crore. 52 Banks have financed RIL.
Anil Ambani’s companies taken over!
One of the biggest frauds on the people of the country is the Anil Ambani- Mukesh Ambani feud. Anil was once on Forbes’s richest list, was a Member of Parliament and headed 5 companies of the Reliance group.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio (Jio) has secured the tower and fibre assets owned by younger brother Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (R-Com) for Rs 456 crore. The loan due to the Banks was Rs.47250 Cr. So by paying less than 1% Mukesh Ambani has taken over all assets. Is it not a loot?
Fate of Cases:
The Arbitration Panel on October 12, 2016, passed an order dismissing the appeal relating to disputes under Panna-Mukta and Tapti PSC by Jus. Hari Sankar of Delhi High Court at the execution stage.
NTC filed a suit in 2006 for a specific performance contract for a supply of natural gas of 132 trillion BTU annually for 17 years.
The following case has been pending in Mumbai High Court for 18 years. GOI sent a notice to the KGD6 contractor (Reliance as Operator) on November 4, 2016, asking the contractor to deposit approximately $1.55 billion (Rs 13011.26 Crs) on account of gas migration from ONGC’s block. (Theft from ONGC’s gas fields). It went to an Arbitration tribunal which supported the claim, but then Reliance went to the Delhi High Court which dismissed the claim of ONGC on May 9, 2023.
4 Individuals filed a complaint to CM Delhi in 2014 alleging Collusion between the then Ministers of the Central Government and the Reliance concerning the increase in the price of gas. The CM Delhi ordered the Anti-Corruption Bureau to register an FIR. It was challenged by Reliance in the Delhi High Court and is still pending.
Three PILs filed in 2013 relating to the KGD6 matter are still pending in the Supreme Court.
I wish the Chief Justice of India would walk the talk.
A case about the Panna Mukti Tapti blocks was taken to the English High Court by Reliance and is still in dispute. So when Indian courts don’t favour them they go to International Court.
Key Acquisition & Investments in 2022-23
Acquired REC Solar Holdings AS for $771 million, the world’s leading solar cells & panels and Polysilicon manufacturer.
Acquired a 40% stake in Sterlings Willson renewable energy.
Acquired Faradion Ltd, a leading battery technology Co for $100 million.
Invested $50 million in Ambri Inc which is developing batteries based on antimony calcium technology.
Invested $29 million in Germany’s Nexwafe for the development and commercialisation of ‘green solar wafers’
Partnering with Lithium Werks for battery technology, Calux Corporation for advanced Solar technology, Alti Green for electric vehicle technology
So they want to be the leader in renewable energy.
You name anything new. Reliance is already there as they have the connections and tell the Government what to do.
Employees (2022-23)
| O2C & E & P | Jio | Retail | Group | |
| Total | 27177 | 95326 | 245581 | 389414 |
| New hire | 5692 | 70418 | 179971 | 262558 |
| Voluntary Separation | 2742 | 41818 | 119229 | 167391 |
In one year 167391 employees leaving the company on Voluntary separation does not ring any alarm bell. Newspapers have stated that 11% of the employees have been sent out recently.
The auditors have pointed out risks like insider threats, Social unrest, Cyclones etc. and Reliance has a Global Corporate Security which works in close coordination with Sovereign forces conducts regular mock drills and maintains Human Intelligence (Humanist), Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Security automation dashboard.
So, it is clear that the country’s intelligence agencies work closely with Reliance.
See the Paris Olympics. Neeta Ambani is there as an IOA representative. What has she done to seek justice to Vinesh Pogat? Adani is a sponsor. Both their channels are broadcasting the wrong stories. The country is taken for a ride.
Which Ambani products and stores to boycott?
Trends, Trend footwear, AJIO, Azorte, Centro, Zivame, Clovia, Awante Garments and Footwear
Kalanikethan and Avantra Saree Collection.
My Jio, Reliance Brands Ltd, Netmeds (Medicaines), Potico and Urban Ladder Furniture, Milk Basket- Essential Products Supermarkets and Stores Named Smart, Smart Bazar, Fresh Signature, 7 Eleven, Smart Point, Fresh Pik, Hamleys (Toys), Jiomart, Reliance Digital, Reliance Jewels and Tira.
Source: Annual Report 2022 – 23 of Reliance Industries Limited
Source: Annual Report 2022 – 23 of Reliance Industries Limited
Other Acquititioned Partnerships.
GAP, Catwalk, Coverstory, Centro, apparels & Footwear.
FMCG Brands Like Lotus Confectionary, Toffeeman, SOSYO, CAMPA, RASKK, SUNCRUSH, Carbonated Drinks and Juices, Maliban Biscuits, Sunglasses Hut, TODs Footwear, El &N Coffee Chain, F & 8 Foodchain, METRO Wholesaler, INSIGHT make up essential, Zivame Clovia Intimate wear, Fashion Factory (Incomplete)
Source: Annual Report 2022 – 23 of Reliance Industries Limited
Gautam Adani
As per a report on June 4, 2024, Adani has a net worth of $111 billion, ahead of Ambani’s $109 billion. He owns 7 airports- Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. Mumbai Airport was with the GVK group. When it refused to sell to Adani, there was an ED raid on the owner and he immediately sold it to Adani.
Though these airports were developed by the Government and given on lease, the Annual Report of Adani shows them as owned and they have announced expansion plans for around 160 Acres at Mumbai airport, 100 Acres at Lucknow, 200 Acres at Navi Mumbai, 17 Acres at Jaipur and 2 Acres in Thiruvananthapuram which will be for business, malls And hotels.
So they are pretty sure that they are going to be the permanent owners of the entire property.
An Adani airport in south India will now charge 50% more fees from passengers while landing charges for aircraft are up three times. (AW 26 June 2024).
Ports
Adani owns 3 ports abroad. Haifa port in Israel, Colombo port in Sri Lanka, Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and now has entered into an agreement to start one in Vietnam. He is also negotiating in the USA and a few other countries.
In India, Adani owns Mundra, Gujarat, Tuna Terminal, Gujarat, Dahej Port, Gujarat, Hazira Port, Gujarat, Mormugoa, Goa, Vizhinjam, Kerala, Kattupalli Port, Tamilnadu, Gangawaram, Andra Pradesh, Karaikal Port, Krishnapattinam Port, AP, One terminal of Visakhapatnam, AP, Ennore Terminal, Tamilnadu, Dhamra port and Gopalpur Port, Odisha and Dighi Port, Maharashtra. Recently they have got an agreement to handle Kolkata Port. So they own Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Andra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Odisha & West Bengal. That is the entire coast of India.
His other businesses are media (NDTV), Power, Roads, Cement, Renewables, Warehouses, Goods Trains etc.
The listed companies are,
- Adani Ports & Spl. Eco. Zone. Ltd.
- Adani Green Energy Ltd.
- Adani Energy Solutions Ltd.
- Adani Total Gas Ltd.
- Ambuja Cements Ltd.
- Adani Enterprises Ltd.
- Adani Power Ltd.
- Adani Willmar Ltd.
- NDTV Ltd.
Under Adani Enterprises it has
- Anil New Industries
- Adani Connex- Data Centre
- AAHL Airports, Adani Agri Fresh Ltd.
- ARTL – Roads, Adani Defence Systems Technology Ltd.
- Copper, Aluminium, PVC, Specialist Manufacturing, Mining Services and Commercial Mining, AWL, Food FMCG etc.
Adani’s plant that manufactures solar panels relies on Chinese equipment and is seeking visas for 30 engineers from China. Adani was in favour of domestic manufacturing of solar equipment and lobbied to have an import duty placed on imported equipment to protect itself from Chinese imports. (AW 28 June 2024).
The profit after Tax and growth in percentage in one year
| APL | Rs. 20829 Cr | 94% | |
| APSEZ | Rs. 8104 Cr | 50% | |
| AESL | Rs. 1197 Cr | 12% | |
| AEL | Rs. 3334 Cr | 38% | |
| AGEL | Rs. 1260 Cr | 30% | |
| ATGL | Rs. 668 Cr | 22% | |
| Ambuja Cements | Rs. 4738 Cr | 119% | |
| AWL | Rs. 148 Cr | 75% | |
| Rs. 39449 Cr |
Is it possible for any business to have such growth without manipulation? The market capitalisation as of March 31, 2024, is Rs. 3644704 Cr against Rs. 199551 a year ago. Market Capitalisation of stocks demerged from Adani Enterprises Ltd is Rs.10,02,866 crore.
Houses of Adani
- Lutyens Delhi- Rs 1000 Cr
- Ahmedabad- Rs 1000 Cr
- Gurgaon, Delhi- Rs 1000 Cr
- Abbot Point Port, Australia -Worth not known.
His brother Vinod Adani is a resident of Dubai since 1994 and a citizen of Cyprus.
The properties owned by the family members in India and abroad are not known.
Dangerous to India’s Defence
UP CM Adityanath and the Chief of Army staff inaugurated South Asia’s largest ammunitions & Missiles Complex of Adani.
Chief of Navy staff R. Hari Kumar flagged off Dristi 10 (Starliner) UAV which is an advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform of Adani
Top officials of DRDO inaugurated the advanced missile production Capability of Adani at Hyderabad
Indian Navy in association with DRDO and Adani tested Naval Anti-ship Missile.
The largest ever Light Machine Gun order was given to Adani by the Indian army
Adani owns Netra 11 AWACS which is a force multiplier system for detecting & tracing aircraft and Airborne Systems.
Adani is steadily growing into a major weapons-industry contractor in India. The group has signed a deal with French firm Thales to manufacture rockets in India. The 70-mm missiles will be attached to Indian combat helicopters. (AW-28 June 2024).
Adani Defence has partnered with UAE-based EDGE group for cooperation in research into and production of missiles, drones and other weaponry for global clients. (AW-11 June 2024).
The Human Rights Forum, a non-profit Organisation active in southern India, has demanded the government to cancel Adani’s drone-manufacturing contract with Israeli firm Elbit Systems, under which drones are being supplied to the Israeli army. Adani had recently signed a deal with the Telangana state government for further expansion of its aerospace manufacturing facility. ‘While several countries have withdrawn support to Israel in the face of its inhuman carnage of Palestinians, Adani continues to profit from it, lining its pocket with blood money,’ the Forum wrote. (AW-8 March 2024)
The Adani Group manufactures deadly drones, sniper rifles and assault weapons in a joint venture with an Israeli arms company. A major product is Hermes 900, a drone that can carry 400 kg.
The Modi government is talking to five Indian power companies, including Adani Power, to invest $5.3 billion each in developing public-private nuclear-power facilities, according to Reuters. The companies would be expected to acquire land and water and carry out construction, while the government would operate the facilities as required by Indian law. (AW-21 February 2024)
Is all this safe for Our country?
PROTESTS
With its demolition and reconstruction by Adani looming large, Asia’s largest shantytown, Dharavi, has erupted in protests. Its famous artisans, manufacturing workers and rappers ask where they will end up in this documentary published by Adani Watch(AW). Some community campaigners warn that up to 500,000 residents of Dharavi, made famous in the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, could become homeless and/or jobless. (AW 21 June 2024)
Even as police detained tribal activists to allow an Adani company to fell Hasdeo forests, a few managed to escape. In an interview with Adani Watch, a village leader describes how the Adani company and local authorities connived to enable coal projects to proceed on ancestral lands. (AW-13 June 2024).
In 2022 India’s national auditor agency, which operates independently as per the Constitution, released a report on environmental violations in India that laid out damning evidence of violations in an expansion by Adani Ports at the company’s Dahej port in western India. The project involved ‘reclaiming’ 23 hectares of intertidal mudflats, which are hotspots of marine biodiversity as well as breeding grounds for fish and feeding grounds for birds. But the EIA submitted by the Adani company said that the mudflats were ‘biologically inactive’. The Modi government accepted this explanation and issued an environmental approval to the project. The auditor pointed out that the government never independently examined Adani’s claim. Worse, the mudflat area was used as a cargo storage area for, amongst other things, a coal stockpile. The auditor pointed out that this was a violation of India’s coastal protection rules and should never have been permitted.
Over 1.5 million tonnes of coal that the Adani Group supplied to a south Indian power utility was of a lower grade than was declared, according to the latest investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and shared with the Financial Times. The suspected fraud, dating back to 2014, meant power utilities burnt more coal than expected, creating more pollution. This follows earlier OCCRP allegations that the Group paid inflated prices of coal to middlemen based abroad. (AW-22 May 2024)
In an astonishing turn of events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked if the Adani Group is illegally funding the opposition Congress party by sending them ‘sacks full of cash’ and ‘chori ka maal’, Hindi slang for dirty money. Campaigning for India’s national elections, Modi falsely accused Rahul Gandhi of not naming Adani (and fellow billionaire Mukesh Ambani) in campaign speeches and asked if a ‘deal had been struck’. Gandhi has never stopped linking Modi with Adani. (AW-16 May 2024)
The Latin Catholic Church of southern India’s Kerala state has said that its bank accounts have been frozen following its involvement in protests against Adani’s controversial Vizhinjam port. (AW-23 April 2024).
India’s highest court has suspended an order by the Gujarat High Court to return 108 hectares of pasture to villagers near the Mundra Port. Adani’s sprawling industrial zone had taken over nearly 200 hectares of pasture, which locals said left little for them to graze their cattle. (AW 10 July 2024).
On August 31, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Arun Kumar Mishra, which included Justices Vineet Saran and M R Shah, ruled in favour of a company in the Adani group in a dispute with public sector power distribution companies in Rajasthan. The verdict, issued three days before Justice Mishra retired from the court on September 2, has granted Adani Power Rajasthan Limited (APRL) – which owns a 1,320-megawatt capacity thermal power station in Kawai, Baran district – “compensatory tariffs” worth over Rs 5,000 crore and penalties and interest payments of nearly Rs 3,000 crore.
Seven interesting judgements favouring Adani were passed by Jus. Arun Mishra, who has been rewarded by appointing him as Chairman of the Human Rights Commission.
India’s Supreme Court has rejected an application for it to review its order from January, in which it had declined to order a separate probe into the Adani Group stemming from the Hindenburg Research report. (AW 15 July 2024).
Environmentalists and a bishop have sued Adani’s controversial wind-power project in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, the first litigation in that country against the billionaire’s group. The petition questions the environmental impact assessment as well as the procedure of awarding the contract – familiar themes when it comes to criticisms of Adani’s operations elsewhere. (AW 17 June 2024).
Tarauli pumped storage in Maharashtra cut and paste of another project of AP.
Bangladesh’s central bank has had to step in to cover a shortage of US Dollars in the country to pay US $1.12 billion to Adani for sourcing electricity from its Godda coal plant. This has revived concerns about whether the power-import deal is in the country’s best interests. (AW-17 February 2024)
Adani has launched Asia’s 1st Hydrogen powered Mining Truck. Adani Enterprises has 7176 employees out of which 222 are not permanent and has 19756 workers out of which 18034 are not permanent.
Uses Nukkad Natak to convince people who oppose their projects
Directors
- Subramaniam IAS Retd who was Secretary New and Renewable Energy, Addl. Sec, Civil Aviation, Member Secretary High-Level Committee which recommended reform and a roadmap for civil aviation is a Board of Directors.
- Vijayalakshmi Joshi – IAS Retd. served in various ministries in Gujarat and the Centre is another.
- Dr. Omkar Goswami. who had been a consultant to the World Bank, IMF, ADB and OECD is on the board.
- Mr. Narendra, Former MD of Indian Overseas Bank was on the Board till November 2023.
Adani Ports has appointed a retired senior investigator of India’s income-tax department as an independent director on its board. MV Bhanumathi, who retired last May, had lately launched probes into, among others, politicians and public personalities opposed to the BJP. The Adani Group did not figure in her investigations. The group has a history of appointing retired regulatory officials and bureaucrats to its boards (see the second edition of this Update). (AW 4 March 2024)
Subsidiaries formed/ acquired in one year
- Pelma Collieries Ltd.
- Aelius Resources Sa
- Stark Enterprises Pvt Ltd.
- Althara Advanced System & Technologies Ltd.
- Sirius Digitech International Ltd.
- Tabermono True Aroman Pvt Ltd.
- Adani Israel Ltd.
- MTRPL Macan Ltd.
- Quintillion Business Media Ltd.
- IANS India Pvt Ltd.
- Osprey International FZCO
- LE MARCHE Duty Free SAS
So his interests are abroad and uses India as his launching pad and saviour.
Tax & duties disputes are pending at various levels, including the Supreme Court
Amounts to Rs. 1530.86 crore some of which are related to 1995-96 even.
Total Assets shown in the Integrated Annual Report is Rs. 42180.37 crore and liabilities are Rs. 25540.83 Crore. How can this company be worth Rs 36 lakh crore?
AEL has as its Subsidiaries 80 Companies
AEL has Stepdown Subsidiaries -137
Jointly Controlled- 5, Associates- 3
Will the Supreme court take action against SEBI after the latest Hindenburg report at least?
Haircuts
Radius a real estate firm in Mumbai had a loan outstanding of Rs. 2834.92 Crore and took over by Adani Group with a haircut of 96%.
According to sources, the RP had admitted claims of about ₹12,300 crore from creditors against Coastal Energen. The consortium of APL had submitted a resolution plan for about ₹3,500 crore.
Adani Group’s Adani Power. Earlier this month, Adani Power received the Committee of Creditors’ approval for the resolution plan to acquire insolvent Lanco Amarkantak Power
Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL), has acquired a 100 per cent stake in Essar Transco Limited after obtaining the requisite regulatory and other approvals for an enterprise value of Rs 1,900 crores
Products to boycott
We may not be able to boycott airports, ports and power. But Adani Wilmar has a 10700 distributor network, leader in edible oil, fast-moving consumer goods and reaches 11.8 Cr households. Fortune, Kings, Aadhar, Bullet, Raag, Alpha, Jubilee, Avsar, Golden Chef, and Fryola are some of their brand names.
If the economy, policy-making, administration, defence and the judiciary are in the hands of a few corporates, inequality will only increase and democracy cannot thrive. As some people say, why rule by proxy? Why not hand over everything to Adani and Ambani and dissolve the Parliament?
Will people join hands with farmers to get them nationalised or quit and settle in their foreign mansions? (More about corporates will follow)
Thomas Franco is the former General Secretary of All India Bank Officers’ Confederation and a Steering Committee Member at the Global Labour University.
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