Page 92 - February EW 2024 PDF

Postscript

Advice to Adani seem to tilt towards Mody, a beauteous former fashion
model who tied the knot with the Raymonds heir despite
EEMS LIKE BILLIONAIRE INFRASTRUCTURE to the latter being afflicted with a rare dermatological prob-
consumer products tycoon Gautam Adani heeded lem — vitiligo, aka leucoderma.
Srepeated EW advice to mount a counter-offensive However, he must have possessed a modicum of
to the Hindenburg Research report of January 24, 2023 charm because in 2016 he persuaded his father Vijaypat
which plunged the market cap of Adani Group companies Singhania, the founder-chairman and MD of Raymond,
listed on the National Stock Exchange from Rs.192 lakh to transfer his 37 percent equity in the publicly listed
crore on January 24 to Rs.68 lakh crore on February 7 Raymond Ltd (sales: Rs.8,300 crore in 2023-24) when
last year. With the result that from being the richest man the octogenarian pere decided to hang up his customised
in Asia, Adani’s rank in the Forbes list of Asia’s HNI (high suits and step down as chairman of the company. Again,
net worth individuals) slipped from #1 to #19. instead of genuflecting with gratitude, the perfidious
For several months during which Adani Group equity Gautam turfed him out of the company flat in Mumbai’s
shares were hitting new lows in the stock market, Adani tony Breach Candy. And mind you Vijaypat is a man of no
cowered in his Ahmedabad den, prompting your editor to mean achievements. After dutifully developing Raymond
wonder what’s the point of being Asia’s richest man with- into a multi-million dollar enterprise with his father
out having the resources to defend one’s reputation (see Lala Kailashpat, in 1988 Vijaypat piloted a single seater
https://www.educationworld.in/simpleton-leader/). airplane all the way from the UK to India, a feat which
We contended that far from being heavily in debt as attracted banner headlines in the media.
alleged by Hindenburg Research, Adani Group has solid, Unsurprisingly, the elder Singhania is squarely on the
on-the ground, tangible assets — ports, airports, power side of his daughter-in-law and grand-daughters. The
plants, edible oils refining capacity and agri-produce latest news is that the fractious couple is about to reach
warehouses -- generating substantial profits to easily pay a “more reasonable” settlement. That would be a disap-
off the allegedly huge bank debts of group companies. pointment to many waiting to see this bad advertisement
Perhaps our advice to Adani to strike back was accepted for the Raymond Man getting his comeuppance.
and on October 23, 2023 the group mounted a highly
effective front page ad campaign in major dailies country-
wide detailing how Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd had trans- Ram Rajya paradox
formed a mud flat in the seaside town of Mundra (Guja-
rat) into India’s sole deep water port which facilitates 11 NDOUBTEDLY AFTER CONSECRATION OF THE
percent of India’s foreign trade and supports a thriving resplendent new Ram Temple in Ayodhya preced-
hinterland economy Ued by inauguration of the new Parliament building
Evidently, the Supreme Court agrees. On January 3, in Delhi and several high-profile infrastructure projects
2024, it rejected a writ petition calling for a SIT (special all over the country, 21st century India is experiencing
investigation tribunal) to investigate the Hindenburg a long overdue renaissance. Prime Minister Narendra
charges. As a result the market cap of Adani Group Modi believes that with the Ram Temple constructed in
companies rose to Rs.143 lakh crore on January 24, 2024 Ayodhya the nation has been liberated from “500 years of
and is well on its way to crossing the Rs.192 lakh crore mental slavery” which began when invaders from Central
high point. Inevitably, media pundits are likely to scoff at Asia and later Britain ruled over India, i.e, Bharat.
our claim of Adani having read this under-appreciated, Yet there seems to be a conspiracy of silence within
education-focused publication. However in the vain hope government and the establishment about the rising tide
that Adani, who has promoted several education institu- of Indians rich and poor, desperate to flee the promising
tions, may put some business our way, the billionaire has new Ram Rajya of newly liberated India. During 2021-23,
been on your editor’s complimentary list for a while and a record 3.61 lakh HNWI (high net worth individuals)
may well have availed our free-of-charge advice. emigrated to countries eager to welcome can-do entre-
preneurs and professionals. This emigration stampede is
not restricted to HNWIs. According to US Customs and
Bad ad for Raymond Man Border Protection authority data, between October 2022
and September 2023, a record number of 96,917 Indians
LTHOUGH THE MEDIA HAS ADOPTED A neu- were arrested while attempting to enter the US unlawfully
tral position on the issue of the widely reported mainly along the Canada-Mexico borders — a five-fold
Adivorce drama between Gautam Singhania, big increase over the 19,883 apprehended in 2019-20.
boss of the Mumbai-based Raymond Ltd — billed as Curiously the majority of these illegal immigrants are
the world’s largest men’s suiting manufacturer — and from Gujarat, the bailiwick of PM Modi, who served there
his wife of 32 years Nawaz Mody, there’s undoubtedly a as chief minister from 2002-2014 before he was elected
nasty streak in this textiles tycoon who is being taken to prime minister of the country. Moreover on January 29,
the cleaners by Mody who is demanding 75 percent of his over 10,000 construction workers flocked to a govern-
shareholding in the company valued at Rs.8,701 crore. ment-run ITI in Lucknow to be tested for employment
For past few months, Mumbai’s cocktail circuit has in Israel, dangers of the Israel-Hamas war and political
been abuzz with tales of the Raymond Man who report- considerations be damned.
edly has serious anger management issues, berating and Seems like the public, rich and poor, is not buying
beating up his wife, and often their two daughters. The official propaganda that a new Ram Rajya age based on
scales of opinion within the Maximum City’s glitterati justice, equity and inclusivity is set to dawn nationwide.

92 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2024