Best of BS Opinion: Britain's Brexit blues, breaking pledged shares habit

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

Boris Johnson gets a Brexit deal from the EU but the turmoil doesn’t end; regulators move to tighten the rules for pledging shares, and Delhi’s anger over air pollution results in action. Pallav Nayak sums up the views.

The Brexit process is becoming increasingly tangled. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson declined to sign a letter requesting a legally binding deferment, and sent Brussels a separate signed letter explaining why an extension was bad for both the UK and the European Union. The result is distrust and turmoil, says our first edit.

Legislative changes alone can’t stem the rot in co-operative banking. Only reforms in recruitment and regulation will break the link between subservient staff and shady management. The minimum capital requirement for a co-operative bank is Rs 1 lakh--an amount that has remained unchanged since 1949. The bar has to be raised, writes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.

Regulators are reportedly working to tighten the rules for pledging shares. That’s a welcome step. The pledging of company stock as collateral for a loan is not a responsible use of equity, but it’s common practice. A healthy listed business should not need to pledge shares to raise funding, says our second edit.

Anger over Delhi’s toxic air has resulted in much action in the last few years: from the introduction of BS VI fuel ahead of schedule to the closing of coal-based power plants. Next, Delhi needs a complete transition to clean fuel: gas or electricity, writes Sunita Narain.

India’s expenditures on health care are rising. This increases the importance of common goods for health (CGH): the population-scale interventions which reduce the disease burden. Simply put, it means it is better for a person to not fall sick, as compared with going into a faulty health care system, writes Ajay Shah.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

 

"We are going to leave by October 31, we have the means and the ability to do so." 

-- Michael Gove, British minister in charge of no-deal Brexit preparations.