With reference to Archis Mohan and Veena Mani's article, "Draft Bill to ban commercial surrogacy" (August 25) the "altruistic surrogacy" provisions of the Bill are in line with the Indian social ethos. The ethical stand here is the child is not a product of transaction, that is, it prohibits commodifying childbirth.However, some issues require strong vigil. Post-natal care of the surrogate mother is important, as complications during pregnancy can turn fatal. There are instances of implantation of multiple embryos for higher chances of success. Unplanned twins or a weak child are sometimes abandoned. There are also chances of commercial surrogacy going underground, or surrogate mothers getting trafficked to other countries. Such instances can jeopardise the safety and security of surrogates. With a proper enforcement mechanism in place, the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, can become a much-needed framework for the hitherto unregulated sector.Sachin V K Jadhav   WashimLetters can be

Letters: Protect surrogates

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There are instances where traditional systems of medicine have come to the rescue where modern medicine couldn't. Speaking several years ago at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, Prathap C Reddy, the founder of Apollo chain of hospitals, observed that 25 years from then, the present system of medicine would become an alternative system.He recounted interesting personal experiences to testify to the efficacy of alternative medicine. He said when his brother had a heart disease, allopathic doctors predicted he had only six weeks left to live; the Ayurvedic treatment his brother underwent in Kerala ensured his survival for 42 more years.Reddy recalled he had his fractured hand treated at the popular bone setting clinic in Puttur in Andhra ainiltyPradesh's Chittoor district. He also said the Rauwolfia Serpentina (Sarpagandha) was still the most trusted root by cardiologists.Ayurveda is already a hit in Russia, coming to the country following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, to treat

Letters: Matters of medicine

The govt and the navy must conduct a dispassionate review

A hollow submarine fleet?

RBI's measures are welcome but may not be enough

Changing lending landscape

I would like to discuss my observations regarding Caleb Melby's article, "We're paying CEOs all wrong" (August 26)

Letters: Debating a CEO's pay

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Companies have spent considerable time and money in getting to know the millennial consumer, but a clear picture of what drives the 18-34-year olds has remained elusive. Now, a survey just released by Paypal (PayPal Cross-Border 2015 Millennials Reporting), tells us, believe it or not, millennials are not that different; they buy the same things, use the same devices for shopping online and worry about the same issues that older online shoppers do

Data Tracker: Getting to know the millennial shopper

With reference to Geetanjali Krishna's Lunch with BS interview of Irom Sharmila (pictured), "Living fully, after a break" (August 27), her 16 years of fasting is reminiscent of Mahatma Gandhi's methods. A comparison can be made of her decision to end the fast with Gandhi's decisions to call off struggles during the Independence movement viz, after the Anti-Rowlatt protests, Non-Cooperation Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement.Historian Bipan Chandra referred to this long-term strategy of our Independence struggle as "struggle-truce-struggle". Phases of mass-based demonstrative struggle were followed by "passive" phases of political work. Like Sharmila now, Gandhi, too, faced the ire of his supporters and colleagues.However, during the phase of political work, Gandhi warned those entering councils to not get co-opted by the very system we have waged a struggle against. Sharmila will now have to face a similar test.Sachin V K Jadhav, WashimLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:

Letters: Test ahead for Sharmila

The editorial, "Power for the course" (August 26) has hit the nail on the head

Letters: Leverage services

If you wish to meet the officer, walk into his office, wait in the reception area, take a sip from a glass of cold water and a smiling officer will soon meet you

A smart police station

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns Lord's, may soon ban uncorking of champagne bottles on the ground

Don't uncork the bubbly yet

An ultra luxury carmaker was in for a surprise while trying to sell a Rs 2.5-crore car to the wife of an industrialist in Mumbai

When buyer sets the terms

IBM's supercomputer is transforming medical diagnostics

Elementary for Watson

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav believes he is only a chief minister in training

Akhilesh says he is a chief minister in training

Najma Heptulla, who was made to resign as minister for minority affairs ostensibly because she had turned 75, has taken oath as governor of Manipur. Observers say this is just an interim office till she is named the National Democratic Alliance candidate for vice-president of India. But what of the other 75-plus minister to resign, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel? She is still waiting for something, anything. It is a moot question whether Heptulla resigned so that a case could be made for wresting Patel's command of Gujarat - or because she had turned 75. After all, Kalraj Mishra, also over 75, is beavering away quietly in the micro small and medium enterprises ministry. Strange are the ways of the current ruling dispensation.

The differing fates of the 75-plus club

Bandhan's first year

So far so good but the big challenges are still to come

Power for the course

Bihar Finance Minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui is being seen as a "lucky charm" by colleagues in the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Siddiqui attended the Rio Olympics as the vice-president of the Badminton Association of India. He had also attended the London Olympics in 2012 in the same capacity. In London, Indian player Saina Nehwal won a bronze medal; in Rio, PV Sindhu bagged a silver medal. "Maybe we should have a felicitation ceremony for him," said an RJD leader. A Bharatiya Janata Party leader had a suggestion for Siddiqui's future as a sports administrator. "He should be made the president of the hockey federation. The hockey team needs some luck badly."

Lucky charm?

A LinkedIn post on Azim Premji by former Wipro executive Premchand Kurup, now founder of Paramount Computer Systems and a "catalyst and transformer" has gone viral. Premji recently completed 50 years at Wipro. Kurup recalled Premji's business acumen, when the latter questioned him about terminating the services of a reseller of Wipro's personal computers called Dynamic Marketing. Kurup had then replied with an elephant-and-ant story. "It is my belief that the relationship between a vendor and a reseller is like an elephant trying to dance with an ant," Kurup says. "The elephant will always want to dance in front and will sometimes step on your toes. A pragmatic appreciation of this is fundamental to a good vendor-reseller relationship. Dynamic Marketing wanted to dance in front of us and I would never allow that." In hindsight, Kurup acknowledged how wrong he was as Dynamic went on to grow into a "several hundred crores" revenue company. "He had both customer insight and market foresig

Elephant and ant

With the success of the Kwid, Renault has reached its market share target for the country well ahead of time. So when the company launched a more powerful version of the Kwid, a member of the audience asked Manager Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sumit Sawhney  if he was thinking of revising the market share target upwards. Sawhney promptly said he was expecting that question from his global CEO and not from the media.

Revising target

Should the Supreme Court, already burdened by backlogs of cases involving  issues of national importance, which are awaiting their turn to even be heard for decades, be willing to entertain and decide the maximum height of the human pyramid? The human pyramid is part of the dahi-handi ritual on Janmashtami  in Maharashtra.There are reports now of some groups openly defying such a limit fixed by the apex court, creating a piquant situation for itself as well as for the agencies that comply with judicial direction from the highest court of the land.If indeed such reports are true, will the court proceed against those found violating its direction?  While refusing a plea for raising the 20-foot height, the court seemed concerned about reports of spinal cord injuries caused by such human pyramids. The question that arises is: Should for the same reason all adventure sports be also banned?S K Choudhury   BengaluruLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru

Letters: Dahi-handi a threat?

Hike's growth underscores India's e-market potential

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