Income tax cut unlikely soon, MakeMyTrip and Oyo under govt lens, and more news

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The government has almost ruled out a cut in income tax rates, including in the upcoming budget, Times of India reports. The thinking, sources told the publication, is that India’s tax rates are lower than that in several countries including the US and the UK even as taxpayers here enjoy many exemptions. But critics feel that a comparison with developed economies is unfair given a vast section of the population there enjoys sizeable social security benefits. To be sure, the government has limited fiscal space for giveaways following the recent $20-billion corporate tax stimulus and given the widening fiscal deficit. Join the conversation.

The Competition Commission of India has ordered a probe against Oyo and MakeMyTrip on charges of predatory pricing and deep discounting. The move follows a complaint by Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India, which accused the two companies of abusing their dominant positions by charging steep commissions. Besides, FHRAI claimed that MakeMyTrip gave preferential treatment to Oyo on its platform, denying market access to rivals Treebo and FabHotels. MakeMyTrip called the charges baseless while Oyo said the competition watchdog has already dismissed five of the six allegations made against it by FHRAI. Join the conversation.

Cognizant will lay off up to 12,000 mid-to-senior employees over the next few quarters and redeploy about 5,000 of the affected candidates, Economic Times reports. The New Jersey-headquartered company is forecasting a net reduction of 5,000 to 7,000 roles, or 2% of its workforce. Cognizant has been laying off middle- and senior-level employees to make room for talented juniors. The company also announced it would exit the content moderation business for clients such as Facebook and Google – a move that will affect another 6,000 jobs. This project has been the subject of media investigations. Join the conversation.

Three Indian-origin CEOs figure among the world’s 10 best-performing executives, in a list compiled by Harvard Business Review. Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen ranks 6th on the global list that names 100 chief executives, followed by MasterCard’s Ajay Banga (7th) and Microsoft’s (LinkedIn's parent) Satya Nadella (9th). The list, topped by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, evaluates C-suite leaders on financial performance as well as environmental, social and governance ratings. Other notable Indian-origin CEOs helming top global companies include Google’s Sundar Pichai, Nokia’s Rajeev Suri and SanDisk’s Sanjay Mehrotra. Join the conversation.

Noted economist Alan Greenspan's theory of a connection between undergarment sales and a sagging economy seems to be playing out in India. Top brands such as Lux Cozi, Dollar and Rupa say innerwear sales were tepid this festive season, ThePrint reports. A possible reason? Small unorganised retailers, who account for 60% of undergarment sales, have cut down stockpile and are delaying payments to manufacturers. Industry experts say retail shops are yet to recover from the double blow of demonetisation and GST rollout, which have crippled their cash flow. Join the conversation.

Idea of the day: It’s not just about growing quickly. Firms need to be nimble in the face of technological disruption, Rakuten chief executive Mickey Mikitani says.

“An agile leader understands that eventually, everything changes, and that’s why in business we need to be alert to change and ready to respond to it, even while embracing speed.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Dipti Jain, Nirajita Banerjee, Shajil Kumar and Mandar M Bakre