MAM
A journalist with soild values: RIP Subrata N Chakravarty
MUMBAI: In 2007, Subrata N. Chakravarty wrote a remembrance piece on Forbes editor and his mentor James W Michaels for India Abroad. This what he had to say: “Jim was far more to me than my editor. He was also my mentor and friend. He brought me into journalism, taught me, supported me when others were sceptical of my analysis, and helped me succeed.”
Little did Subrata know that 18 years later another respected scribe Raju Narisetti would be writing to inform the world about his passing while at the same time thanking him for his goodness when he was alive. This is how Raju described Subrata: : “Mourning the loss of a pioneering Indian journalist in America and a friend to many of us who chose to be journalists in the US, and looked up to him and benefited from his friendship and counsel. Subrata was a founding board member of South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) in 2001. Thank you, Subrata, for your kindness and generosity.”
Subrata passed away on 1 February 2025 at 4 pm in the United States after a career that saw him stay at Forbes for 27 years from June 1972 to November 1998 with his mentor James Michaels and transform it from a struggling magazine to one of the most respected business publications in the US. (He had been suffering from dementia since 2021.)
He then served as senior editor for The Boston Consulting Company from November 1998 through April 2000. He worked as an assistant manager and editor for Institutional Investor Magazine from January 2001 through June 2003, and as an editor and reporter for Bloomberg News from July 2003 through November 2006.
Born in Kolkata, and after an AB in Political Science from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Subrata spent his time at Forbes mentoring scores of young journalists.
He was greatly influenced by Jim who had told him: in his early days “if a story wasn’t fresh, it should not be written….. if the herd was running one way, the story was quite often in the other direction…..writers have to be “the drama critic of business,” bluntly judging the performance of top management.”
He made those nuggets of advice his leitmotifs throughout his career always looking for a new angle to a story or development. He also passed on that advice to those he mentored. He set up a company SNC Media, helping journalists to polish their interviewing, research, analytical and writing skills. He used the problem-solving techniques learned at the Harvard Business School with a writing style and attitude developed at Forbes magazine to help journalists tell factually accurate, compelling and entertaining stories. (He had held quite a few training sessions with Indian publishing houses – amongst which figured the then-ABP-owned BusinessWorld before the group sold it. BusinessWorld too was once rated as the top business publication in India between the late 1980s and early 2000s.)
Subrata through his career did in depth interviews with the likes of futurist Herman Kahn of the Hudson Institute, management thinker Peter Drucker, Edwin Land of Polaroid, and Harold Geneen of ITT. But most of all he researched everything about companies and predicted the success of many and the downfall of some – rather with a high per centage of accuracy.
Subrata leaves behind the his wife Barbara, and children Anjali and Joya.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
