When this techie returned to his desk after lunch, he felt a sudden punch to the solar plexus: the dreaded pink slip was waiting for him. Welcome to the AI world. Here are you pink-slip proof? No, say a majority working 24X7. Career cushioning, a side hustle and pink slip insurance are not just mandatory but a survival skill in this age of overwhelming AI. Every survey rings the death knell to job permanencies. Devotion to your company and the bosses who mentored you? You must be joking! The sweeping storm of AI has churned up the job market…it’s a tech revolution that shakes and stirs every norm that we held sacred. A long list of surveys only confirms what is feared. Deloitte’s survey is ominous. It says 63 % of Gen Z and 65% of millennials fear generative AI may wipe out jobs. At the same time, they are convinced that acquiring generative AI skills are de rigueur to go up the tech ladder.  Then there are the wise owls who adopt a new scheme to pink slip proof their jobs. So what options are there for a side hustle? One, consultancy or advisory research data hustles. Two, start an online business of boutique style snacks, services and on call HR or temps. Three, mine data for multiple domains, especially medical fields heavily dependent on past validated research for writing grants …funding for grants makes you an entrepreneur. Four, start local or neighbourhood clubs, golf, book discussion, parenting, coaching for exams. Five, generate surveys for any domain, boost business plans providing statistics. Astrology platforms attract big money …one has turned Unicorn!  Who is overwhelmed by AI? Not the savvy career cushioned, side hustlers who are smart to pink slip proof their futures. Are you ready?

The Ruias-controlled Essar Group after exiting most of its steel assets years ago to clear debts is now more confident and assertive today than ever before. In fact, Essar is now firing on all cylinders for big ticket investment plans spread across the U.S., Saudi Arabia, India and others. Recently, the conglomerate captured major international headlines when the U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Essar-backed Mesabi Metallics will invest $18 billion to build America’s largest integrated steel plant complex in Iowa, America — producing 10 MTPA of steel annually using iron ore from Essar mines in Minnesota, USA. Similarly, in Saudi Arabia also, Essar is said to be gearing up to set up 4 MTPA green steel plant in Ras Al-Khair to capture the Middle Eastern industrial boom. And in India, Essar is executing a Rs 12,000 crore project to build a 14 million tonne iron ore pellet complex in Keonjhar in Odisha and a slurry pipeline to Paradip port. Essar’s aspiration does not end here, it is now going back to its roots Gujarat.  Sources say Essar is also exploring an investment of $ 5 billion in the next few years to set up a 8-million tonne steel manufacturing plant in Gujarat. It may be mentioned Essar Steel was among the first list of the largest 12 stressed accounts that the RBI had drawn up in June 2017. The company was acquired by ArcelorMittal in 2019 under the NCLT and a final Supreme Court ruling.

There is something almost absurd about India’s latest coal crisis: the problem isn’t a supply shortage. Domestic production and imports are both up, and coal is piling up at the pitheads. What is missing is last-mile connectivity—specifically, the railway rakes needed to carry it to power stations. By September 9, as many as 59 thermal power plants across India were operating with critically low coal stocks, some holding barely three days of generation fuel. Maharashtra is right at the centre of this logistics crunch. Plants at Butibori and GMR Warora were down to a single day’s supply, while Dahanu, Amravati, Dhariwal, and Adani Tiroda held roughly three days’ stock, with Khaparkheda and Solapur at four. The Union Coal Ministry notes that rake loading for the power sector actually rose 20% in four days—from 370 rakes a day on September 3 to 444 on September 6. This raises an obvious question: if supplies are stepping up, why are generating stations still running on fumes? The official rationale points to seasonal logistics—heavy rains, evacuation delays, and a bottleneck in rake availability. Coal India itself acknowledged that several subsidiaries have ample coal but cannot move it due to rainfall and transport constraints. Yet monsoons are an annual affair. India has the coal; it simply needs the railways to deliver it. Adding to the drama, Gujarat has reportedly reached out to Maharashtra asking how the state is managing its thermal power operations without major disruptions. With stocks running thin, the question remains: will the Union Coal Secretary step up with answers?

It could prove to be a masterstroke by 69-year-old Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, which holds 66% in Tata Sons, the holding company of the $180-billion Tata Group. Noel, who has strongly opposed the listing of Tata Sons, seems to have found a possible way out of this vexatious issue. Tata Sons had earlier sought regulatory relief from the Reserve Bank of India as it tried to avoid a mandatory listing. Initially, there appeared to be broad alignment within the Tata establishment. But after Noel expressed reservations about a third term for N Chandrasekaran as chairman of Tata Sons, two camps seem to have emerged. Now Noel has made a bold move. Tata Trusts has proposed a strategic reorganisation of Tata Sons through the merger of Tata Electronics Systems Solutions Pvt Ltd and Tata Consulting Engineers with the holding company. The objective is clear: after the restructuring, Tata Sons would seek to operate neither as a NBFC nor as a Core Investment Company. If the restructuring achieves that regulatory status, the very basis for the RBI-mandated listing could disappear. The ball is now in the RBI’s court.  But Noel has another battle on his hands — N Chandrasekaran’s third term. Chandra had announced on August 12 that he would not seek another term after his current tenure ends in February 2027. But the September 17 Tata Sons board meeting dramatically reversed that position, approving his reappointment for another five years by a majority vote. Noel was the sole dissenter. So, far from ending, the battle for Bombay House may only have entered its next round. In some ways, Noel Tata appears to be going through the same grind that his elder half-brother, the late Ratan Tata, faced after taking charge of Tata Sons in 1991.

There is speculation that political slugfest over CEC Gyanesh Kumar could all be his own making. The general buzz is that he could be unilateral in decision-making like former CEC T N Seshan and this may not have gone down well with his two fellow Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The latest controversy erupted over an Indian Express investigative report alleging that Sandhu and Joshi recorded their objections in writing on at least 14 occasions in the last 10 months. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh says “The CEC has deliberately and explicitly violated the spirit of the Constitution and its provisions on citizenship…by illegally amending Form 6 to deprive Gen Z voters of their voting rights…he is a pawn of the cunning duo of PM-HM”. It is being said when ECs Sandhu and Joshi wrote to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan complaining about the CEC, he told them it was not remit of the government to give directions to the poll body as it was an independent institution. Soon after the Express expose, alarm bells were sounded within the NDA and regional parties wanted the EC to function credibly and coherently. It then became incumbent for the CEC and ECs to come together to hammer out a joint statement. Even though appointments to the ECI are made as sinecure postings for retired bureaucrats — all the officials on ECI are close to ruling side — there is still a possibility that they may not always contribute to smooth functioning of the poll body. Gyanesh Kumar has been charged with bias towards the BJP, foisting the SIR on the country, which has removed 13 crore voters. The Congress even dubs the EC’s latest offer to get the BLO to visit the home of electors to get documents of those who received notices of discrepancies as an admission of guilt by the ECI.

It seems Hockey India, the apex body governing the sport in the country, is facing a severe internal crisis as personal agendas, power struggles, and petty politics take precedence over its organizational mission. At the centre of the deep-seated infighting are President Dilip Kumar Tirkey and Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh. Padma Shri and Arjuna Awardee Tirkey has filed a formal police complaint in Delhi against four high-ranking federation officials, alleging criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and acts endangering his safety during a recent visit to the capital. In his complaint, Tirkey alleged that his Delhi-based driver failed to report for duty and absconded with critical office records, including his personal health files and medical reports. Tirkey named Bhola Nath Singh as the mastermind behind the incident. According to sources, tension had been brewing after Tirkey reprimanded Singh for failing to abide by administrative instructions regarding governance, financial disputes, convening an unapproved Executive Board meeting, and altering the national team’s jersey color to saffron without his consent. The escalating feud threatens to derail one of the country’s most iconic sporting institutions.

An important event took place at the recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai. BCCI members, as permitted by the Supreme Court, attend the AGM and try to make their presence felt. The representative of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), Dr Unmesh Khanvilkar, may have stirred the hornets’ nest by telling the BCCI bigwigs that Mumbai should be considered for prominent Test matches. He even went so far as to propose that Mumbai be awarded a Test match in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy because Gavaskar is from the great city of Mumbai, which has won the Ranji Trophy 42 times. The MCA has hosted 27 Test matches in the last 51 years, the last being the third Test of that series against New Zealand. The city’s second Test venue, the Brabourne Stadium at the Cricket Club of India, has hosted 18 Tests, while the Bombay Gymkhana hosted one, the inaugural Test in India, against England. India has over 30 Test grounds, with the original first five permanent Test venues being Bombay (Mumbai), Madras (Chennai), Delhi, Calcutta (Kolkata), and Kanpur. Some noted former Test players believe that the time has come for the authorities to schedule Test matches at traditional venues. Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand have their own Test centres that attract large attendance. Adding Guwahati, Ranchi, Indore, Visakhapatnam, Dharamsala, New Chandigarh and Rajkot has made the rotation policy long and winding. The five Test series against Australia have already been scheduled at Nagpur, Chennai, Ranchi, Guwahati and Ahmedabad, and it looks like Mumbai’s frustration will continue for a long time. But it’s good that the MCA has raised the issue.

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and CPI(M) secretary M A Baby have reopened communication after decades of rivalry in West Bengal, amid concern over differences within the Election Commission on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Both parties are founding constituents of the INDIA bloc but maintained no communication. Sources said Mamata and Baby spoke over the phone after Baby wrote to Opposition and non-BJP parties. They discussed bringing Opposition parties together to launch a joint campaign to safeguard the credibility of the electoral system. It is also learnt that Didi spoke to LoP Rahul Gandhi and urged him to call an INDIA bloc meeting next week. Baby’s letter called the recently published news report a “major exposé”, raising questions over the commission’s credibility and saying the democratic process was at stake. He claimed the process could affect voting rights of more than 13 crore voters and urged a collective response. Baby proposed a date and venue and approached non-INDIA parties, including BRS, AAP, DMK, Tamil Nadu’s ruling party TVK, BJD and the Cockroach Janta Party. Mamata is learnt to have told Baby that INDIA constituents should meet without delay and work out a strategy. Coordination gathered momentum after reports said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections at least 14 occasions over 10 months to SIR-related decisions. Opposition parties have demanded CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal and an independent inquiry into the EC under Supreme Court oversight, and are likely to submit a notice in Parliament.

India’s culture of political defections has been deplored by Sweden’s MP Nila Vikhe Patil while castigating her uncle Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, a senior minister in Maharashtra. After spending her childhood at Loni in Ahilyanagar district of north Maharashtra, 41-year old Nila returned to Sweden where she has been recently elected to its Parliament. A staunch worker of the Green Party, Nila has expressed chagrin over the attempts by Sujay, son of Radhakrishna, to show closeness to her and claim some credit in her political achievement. Radhakrishna Vikhe and his son Sujay are with the BJP. Sujay was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019 but lost five years later. Nila is the daughter of Radhakrishna’s elder brother and educationist Ashok Vikhe Patil. The brothers Vikhe are not on good terms. After Nila’s electoral victory, Sujay spoke with news channels. Nila, however, erupted when she saw one of the video clips in which Sujay was seen saying that although he was defeated in the Lok Sabha election, another member was elected in Sweden. Nila expressed angrily that she had no contact with either Radhakrishna or Sujay in over a decade. She burst out, “I will never change my party. They have.”  She was referring to Vikhe’s changing caps, from the Congress to the Shiv Sena (Unified) and now with the BJP. All through, he has remained an influential cabinet minister, belonging to the powerful Maratha caste and seen as a confidant of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Another chapter of suspense will open in Maharashtra’s politics as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted an invite from veteran leader Sharad Pawar to visit Baramati on 24 October. The camaraderie between the two dates back to many decades and is a bone of contention between the Gandhi family and the erstwhile Congress strongman. Another sore point is industrialist Gautam Adani, who is close to Pawar since his fledging days while Rahul Gandhi does not miss a single opportunity to attack him. In Baramati, Modi will inaugurate ‘Preranasthal’ (Place of Inspiration) where a memorial for Lord Gautam Buddha is being developed. Always curious about state-of-the-art technology, Pawar has established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute at the Baramati campus to benefit rural students. His penchant was seen when a Robot greeted him on Thursday (Sept 24). Pawar had gone there to see a presentation regarding the preparation for the PM’s visit. Of late, Pawar is appearing rather active despite his advancing years. For instance, he wrote a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadanvis to declare a drought in Maharashtra, given the paucity of rainfall and the privations suffered by a huge number of cattle and farmers. Fadnavis immediately responded and undertook tours of the affected areas. A substantial assistance package for the farming community is expected to be announced by him any moment, given the gravity of the situation. Thus, he has sent a tacit message that he has shown adequate respect towards Pawar. The Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are pushed to the sidelines once again in affairs of the state.