Winners and sinners

The Supreme Court in its wisdom has decided that it is telecom companies that will pay the price for a bidding process that, in hindsight, has been termed “illegal”. The verdict is a mixed blessing for operators. Companies that have not found India worth their while are unlikely to bid again and may opt out. The bigger players, on the other hand, now stand a better chance of turning around a financially challenging business. As new players entered the fray, the ensuing tariff war kept growth muted and weighed down profits. The obnoxious amounts paid for 3G spectrum further accentuated the problem. The cancellation of licences, outrightly unfair to some new entrants, does raise questions about the sanctity of a government-approved bidding process. But was there a choice?

As it turns out, the winners from this mess are the two largest operators in the country: Airtel and Vodafone. While Airtel still faces the arduous task of making money on its Zain acquisition, Vodafone can now hope to make money on its mammoth investment made in India during the go-go years. Meanwhile, although an initial public offering has been announced, it will become a reality only if the stock market obliges. However, it remains to be seen if the exuberance that we witnessed in the sector during its glory days will return. Assistant Editor Rashmi Pratap analyses the opportunities and challenges ahead for Vodafone, even as CEO Marten Pieters articulates his “We want to be an HUL” vision statement. We would love to be the new HUL

Talking of the stock market, we have an interview with Neelkanth Mishra of Credit Suisse. Even as the market claws back after months of pessimism, he is convinced that the pullback has weak legs. In other stories, we have a very interesting rags-to-riches tale of a 15-year-old who ran away from home to create what has now become a ₹700-crore business empire: Lucky 30