Will invest $20 bn; plan to grow revenue to $80 bn: Vedanta's Anil Agarwal

 ‘Government-listed companies can see their market cap go up five times if they are either corporatised or privatised’, said Agarwa

The $30-billion Vedanta group is set for an aggressive growth plan even as it enters newer areas such as semiconductor fabs. Chairman Anil Agarwal speaks to Surajeet Das Gupta on the group’s ambitious plans and more. Edited excerpts: What is your overall growth plan for the next few years, especially as you enter new areas? Our plan is very clear. In the next four to five years, we will invest $20 billion and it has been allocated. In oil and gas, we hope to hit 500,000 barrels and will invest $4 billion, in technology we will invest $2-3 billion for the display and …

MPs unite against Facebook over ‘political bias’, seek action against execs

The meeting was attended by 13 MPs of the BJP and four from opposition parties

Facebook was subject to tough questioning by Members of Parliament at a meeting of the Standing Committee attached to the Ministry of Information and Technology, on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by 13 MPs of the BJP and four from Opposition parties. Almost all members criticised the US-based social media giant for political bias.

The BJP MPs wanted to know why 2.6 million pages of BJP-related posts were taken down, erased, or tampered with by the company. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey who has aggressively questioned the practices at Facebook, lashed out at the organisation, along with Anil Agarwal (BJP), Sanjay Seth (BJP) and Mahua Moitra (Trinamool Congress).

As proceedings of Parliamentary committees are covered by Parliamentary privilege, very little information was forthcoming from Facebook on how the organisation defended itself. Those who attended the meeting on its behalf were Ajit Mohan, vice-president of the company, and S Purohit, the legal advisor. Facebook said its deposition would be submitted in writing to the MPs.

Unconfirmed reports suggest some MPs also voiced the demand that executives in Facebook India should be stripped of their positions. Another meeting, for which Facebook will be summoned, is on the cards.Two activists of net neutrality — journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, also the author of The Real Face of Facebook in India, and Nikhil Pahwa, founder of digital news portal Medianama — also addressed the Standing Committee.

Top 10 business headlines: Modi’s economic plan, stimulus package & more

From SoftBank eyeing stake in Airtel’s telecom biz and other assets to Anil Agarwal’s expression of interest to revive Jet Airways, here are the top 10 business headlines for Monday

1) Our Mantra is to revive animal spirits, make India investment magnet: PM ModiWe will leave no stone unturned towards making India the best investment destination in the world, improve ease of doing business, go “as far as possible” to revive the “animal spirits” and make the “entire private sector bullish”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday told the Economic Times in an interview.

Further, the Prime Minister said that he had taken the decision on Article 370‘s abrogation from Jammu and Kashmir after a “great deal of thought”. According to the financial daily, he said that he was certain this would help create the three necessary conditions for investment: stability, market access and predictable laws.

2) Govt looks to reverse economic slowdown with a stimulus package: Amid fears of a global slowdown, the government is putting together a set of measures — from tax cuts to targeted sops — to reverse the economic downturn gripping the country at present, LiveMint reported on Monday, while citing three people aware of the ongoing discussions.

According to the report, the government’s idea is to roll out various countercyclical measures, including confidence-building steps for the private sector and sectoral incentives, to stimulate the economy, which is facing losses, layoffs and an investment freeze…