Time that speech

Shareholders tend to harp on their views at every annual general meeting (AGM) much to the chagrin of others present at these gatherings. At some AGMs there is a cap on the time a shareholder can take for her speech, though shareholders are known to overshoot that quite often. A disgruntled shareholder told Anand Mahindra during a Mahindra & Mahindra AGM: "Tatas have a green and a red light to warn the speaker if he has exceeded his time limit. We should have a similar arrangement to avoid wasting time." To which the Mahindra group chairman and managing director said, "Next you will propose electric shocks be given to those who don't limit their speeches."