Feature
Infosys CFO Rajiv Bansal quits
Bengaluru: Infosys chief financial officer (CFO) Rajiv Bansal has resigned, the global software major said on Monday.
“Bansal has informed the company of his intention to resign. He will be replaced by M.D. Ranganath at the close of business on Monday,” the IT firm said in a statement after announcing financial results for the July-September second quarter of fiscal 2015-16 here.
Bansal, who has also been the executive vice-president, however, will continue as an advisor to the company’s chief executive Vishal Sikka and the board of directors till December 31 for a smooth transition.
“I would like to thank Rajiv for his outstanding contribution to the company and for being a great partner over the past 16 months,” Sikka said in a statement.
As CFO and executive vice-president, Bansal led the $8.7 billion company’s financial strategy and was instrumental in being a part of its transformational journey.
“He’s a brilliant CFO and we will miss him even as we respect his decision and wish him continued success in his future endeavours,” Sikka said.
Recalling that it was a privilege to work at Infosys, Bansal said he had a rewarding experience and proud of what the company achieved under Vishal’s leadership.
“I am sure that Infosys, under the leadership of Vishal, will scale new heights in the times ahead,” Bansal noted in the statement.
Bansal is the third high-profile CFO to quit the IT bellwether in the last four years after V. Balakrishnan and M.D. Mohandas Pai left the company in 2013 and 2011 respectively. Unlike Bansal, they were also directors on the company’s board.
Ranganath, who held leadership positions during his 15-year tenure with the company, is executive vice president and head of strategic operations, responsible for planning, risk management, mergers and acquisitions and corporate marketing.
“Over the last 16 months, I have come to know Ranganath as a passionate and balanced leader with ability, knowledge and integrity. We welcome him as our new CFO,” Sikka averred.
Ranganath was also chief risk officer for over five years, implementing the company’s enterprise risk management programme and leading cost optimisation initiatives as senior vice-president in the chairman’s office.
Prior to joining Infosys in 2000, Ranganath was in-charge of treasury, planning and credit functions at the country’s largest non-banking financial firm ICICI Ltd.
A post-graduate from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Ranganath holds a master’s degree in technology from the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai and is an associate member of Certified Practising Accountants in Australia.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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