Differences cropped up between the co-founders of India’s most successful airline IndiGo, sources said. The two, Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, have hired legal firms for dispute resolution, sources said. It is learnt that the differences between the two are over Bhatia possibly feeling that Gangwal was trying to gain greater control of the airline by bringing his own team as the low-cost carrier plans to expand to the international markets. Bhatia and Gangwal have hired JSA Law and Khaitan & Co, respectively. Gangwal, a US citizen and non-executive director, is a veteran of global aviation industry holds nearly 37% stake in the airline. Bhatia has about 38% stake. In 2003-04 they came together to launch IndiGo. The airline had a smooth run till to two to three years-go and the carrier undertook massive expansion in Indian skies, emerging as the number one player.
Infy employees to get £370 mn stock
Infosys stock options had created some of India’s early salaried millionaires. The company has now announced another major stock option programme that is expected to benefit a large number of employees. The company has decided to allocate 50 million shares, valued at £370 million, to employees based on performance. The effort appears to be partly an attempt to rein in the company’s high attrition rates of 17-20%. The programme - Infosys Expanded Stock Ownership Programme 2019 - links long-term employee incentives with shareholder value creation. “Subject to shareholder approval, this unique plan proposes to allocate 50 million shares equating 1.15% of the company’s equity shares to a broad base of employees, which will vest on challenging performance criteria,” the company said in a statement. Infosys is said to have created 20,000 rupee-millionaires and 500 dollar-millionaires in the 1990s and 2000s. It had at one point stopped stock options. But some three years ago, it relaunched the employee stock option programme to reward employees at junior to mid levels.
Panasonic to set up charging sites for e-vehicles
Japanese electronics giant Panasonic is planning to set up 100,000 charging stations and telematic solutions across 25 Indian cities by 2024 to power over a million vehicles. The company - a key partner (battery cell supplier) of American electric vehicles maker Tesla - plans to set up mini charging facilities at parking areas, malls, petrol pumps, and specially developed zones across cities such as Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Amravati, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. Through the network, Panasonic aims to reach individual electric vehicle users, fleet owners, e-commerce and logistics companies to manage their transports more efficiently. Most of the expansion will be through the franchisee model, while Panasonic will control the core network and technologies.
