Who was the Cabinet minister who said off the record that surrogate babies actually dilute the Indian lineage and that was why the government was virtually banning surrogacy? Is there any limit to thegovernment's ignorance?

A casually racist remark

Business Standard

Nupur Anand's report, "Robots to perform a fifth of internal jobs at ICICI Bank" (September 10) is emblematic of the flawed economic policies

Letters: Generate employment

Shekhar Gupta confuses the issue and terms in his piece, "Genetically ossified absurdity" (September 10)

Letters: Seeds of discontent

The race in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun for two Rajya Sabha seats that have fallen vacant: Najma Heptulla's because she has been made governor of Manipur; and more importantly, Navjot Sidhu's, which is almost a complete term as he resigned within weeks of his swearing-in. Heptulla's term is shorter and whoever gets the seat will get to enjoy only a truncated tenure. That hasn't stopped hopefulsfrom trying.

Race in the BJP for Rajya Sabha seats

Mehbooba Mufti becomes a different person when she is in Jammu. Earlier this week, she was there to gift two-wheeler mopeds to girl students. Shrugging away protocol and security, Mehbooba threw herself into the spirit of things, riding pillion on a scooty and taking a spin around the campus. Her security personnel huffed and puffed as they ran behind the scooty - and the chief minister.

When Mehbooba Mufti shrugged away security and protocol

Blocking entire web domains hurts genuine users

A torrent of bans

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash Vijayavargiya recently went to Athens. Apparently finding it impossible to do without Indian food, he searched for an Indian restaurant and found one with a Ganesh statue outside it. Assuming it was run by an Indian he went inside and had a meal that was quite good. Later, he found out the restaurant was owned by a Pakistani. "But the food was good, I have to say," he said grudgingly.

Vijayavaragiya's grudging appreciation

Aam Aadmi Party Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann called a press conference. TV cameras and reporters turned up in large numbers and began setting up their equipment. When the conference began, an already frazzled Mann was - not unnaturally - asked some tough questions. Finally, irritated he declared, "Get all these press people out of my press conference." A press conference without press people?

Bhagwant Mann's press conference without the press

It is rare and therefore a big tribute to have dishes that celebrate your legacy. Outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan got this honour with Zzungry, a Bengaluru-based food company that included two dishes in its menu as a tribute to the banker. Ulundu kozhukattai and Kova kozhukattai, dumplings of rice flour stuffed with spicy or sweet filling, are inspired from the cuisines of two states in India - Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - which hold great relevance in Rajan's life. Priced at Rs 100 and Rs 150 each, they will be available till Sunday, September 4, Rajan's last day at work.

A savoury tribute to Raghuram Rajan

The World Bank president must revisit his approach

It's Dr Kim, again

Religious leaders should not be addressing legislatures

Don't undermine Constitution

The emerging India-US relationship must be evaluated fairly

The minnow mindset

The annual general meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries on Thursday saw a different partnership on display. As Mukesh Ambani showered praise on Nita Ambani for her corporate social responsibility activities and for becoming the first Indian woman member of the International Olympic Committee, his better half played her part by leading the round of applause for every new announcement Mukesh Ambani made. As Mukesh Ambani made his longest-ever AGM speech, his wife was seen ready to be the first to clap. With Jio in focus, Nita Ambani did get enough opportunities to return the gesture.

Complementing each other

Real estate developers in Mumbai are a desperate lot, with customers shying away from new investments citing high prices. This is leading developers to try every trick in the book to woo consumers. But here's one developer which took the proverbial cake: It sent out a text message to prospective customers saying company executives would pick up and drop them from their homes for a site visit at a distant suburb, with a lunch thrown in between. As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Desperate marketing

Taking a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's communication rule book, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik plans to launch his own version of Mann Ki Baat. His radio address, Apananka Pain, is slated to debut on the proposed Biju Gaan Radio, a state government-sponsored community broadcast network named after Patnaik's late father and former chief minister. The decision is significant as panchayat polls are scheduled to be held in the state early next year. The chief minister has chosen a medium with a wide reach at a time when his government is facing a series of controversies, including the much reported plight of a tribal man in backward Kalahandi region who was forced to carry his wife's corpse on his shoulder.

Direct to home

Hemant Misra seems to be batting for celebrities in his piece, "Why guide when you can penalise?" (September 1) by inventing alibis for the lack of government guidelines on the matter of celebrity endorsements.In a democracy like India everyone is entitled to have a different opinion, but this often leads to such a paradoxical situation that we are influenced to accept certain things even if the facts speak otherwise.Celebrity endorsements have become a bone of contention due to the fact that some of the nationally advertised products do not pass the real test of reliability and customer satisfaction. Unsuspecting consumers often take at face value what well-known personalities, who often act as brand ambassadors, promote in the advertisements.The key concern is that these celebrities have made deep inroads into the world of food, health and inhabitation and the most alluring zone, cosmetics. Can Misra justify the endorsement of products, which are injurious to health, by some of them

Letters: Celebrities are liable

With reference to the report, "Arvind Kejriwal sacks minister Sandeep Kumar over 'objectionable' CD" (September 1), the news must have come as a bolt from the blue for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).Kumar is the third AAP minister in Delhi to be dismissed after Food and Supplies Minister Asim Khan over graft allegations and Law Minister Jitender Tomar for allegedly faking his college degree. The AAP's Punjab Convenor Sucha Singh Chhotepur was also removed for allegedly accepting money in exchange for tickets in the Assembly elections in the state next year.How can the AAP claim to be a political holy cow now? There might well be more skeletons in its cupboard. The party's earlier bright poll prospects might be dealt a severe blow because of these developments. To this add clashes reported between pro- and anti-Kejriwal groups in Amritsar and it does not augur well for a party that is still in its infancy.Chhotepur had openly objected to the declaration of 32 candidates (contained in two sep

Letters: Douse fire in AAP first

Click on graphic

Top five PE deals this yearThe top five deals accounted for 27.7 per cent of the total investment in terms of deal value. The largest deal of the year was Blackstone Advisors India, which invested $1,200 million in Mphasis, while Fairfax India Holdings and Fairfax Financial Holdings invested $369.50 mn in Bangalore International Airport.

A snapshot of PE activity & deals

Raising minimum wage is no compensation for deeper reforms

Wasted labour

Q1 GDP disappoints but hope floats on recovery

A wet blanket

Ditching its usual practice of serving vegetarian food during official events, the Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opted to serve non-vegetarian food at a workshop. Held on the banks of the Haldi river, near the town of Haldia in southern Bengal, the four-day workshop for BJP's state workers served hilsa, prawn and katla fish. The change in menu had to be accommodated as party workers were uncomfortable with the strict vegetarian diet, a local BJP leader said. A Bengali meal without fish was too much to demand, said BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh. "Everyone was asking for fish," he said. "Although this escalated costs, we are happy that our workers and leaders enjoyed the food thoroughly."

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