His last policy review raises hope for continuity in RBI's actions

Mr Rajan's swansong

Business Standard

Profit-seeking telecom operators may find it difficult to bid for spectrum because of their self-perceived inability to make revenue projections

Letters: Seeking special treatment

The "arbitrary" imposition of penalty on telecom service providers for call drops should have been complemented with satisfactory evidence of lack of investment in network upgrade

Letters: Regulator's duty

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has become a rock star on Twitter

Sushma's Twitter glory

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is finally about to announce the new chief of its Delhi unit

Adapting to change

How the inflation threshold formula was arrived at

The estimation was done using quarterly data from 1996-97 to 2012-13

No, we are not talking about the furry simians, but a bunch of homo sapiens who have converged on Rio de Janeiro from other parts of Brazil, to cash in, literally, on the surge of tourists, thanks to the Olympic Games. No matter how careful you are, you risk losing your wallet, backpack, camera, or even the peanuts you're munching on, to thieves who steal in broad daylight, cocking a snook at the armed cops. They grab and run at a speed that might put some of the athletes at the Games Village to shame. A lot of this kind of adventurism was captured on a video that went viral on WhatsApp, apparently prompting several potential visitors to the city to cancel their tickets.

Monkey business in Rio

Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa was saved by Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from boredom during a recent government event that had little to do with his department. Throughout the event, organised to mark the unveiling of an online portal that facilitates government procurement through a digital platform, Lavasa was seen trying to contain his laughter as he chatted with Sitharaman. Shedding light on the matter, the minister later said she was quite happy with the finance ministry for moving fast to change the general financing rules that govern procurement - "something it is not known for", she added with a smile. A joke for jaded nerves perhaps?

Quid pro quo

During the monsoon session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly that ended last week, the building plunged into darkness a few times, thanks to power failure, providing members an opportunity to aim barbs at each other. During one such spell of darkness, when a debate was going on, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nand Kishore Yadav shouted from the Opposition benches: "Bijendra babu, pranam (Mr Bijendra, accept my salutation)!" Nand Kishore Yadav was referring to state Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav. Usually a good speaker, that time round, Bijendra Prasad Yadav was at a loss for words. A Rashtriya Janata Party leader later said the power minister must have been feeling quite "powerless".

'Powerless' in Bihar Assembly

Apropos Arup Roy's report, "In his last policy, Rajan puts onus on banks" (August 10), as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its latest Monetary Policy Statement, the media and even most analysts and bankers were looking for parting words from its outgoing governor. They didn't find any.The document looked no different in presentation and content from its earlier editions in the last three years.But there was one difference that went unnoticed.Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy's might have alleged that Raghuram Rajan did not study economics at the undergraduate level. But from Day One on Mint Road, Rajan effectively put to use the management lessons he had picked up at IIM Ahmedabad and his international experience in monetary management, supplemented by expertise in teaching.That Rajan referred to a slew of measures affecting the financial sector, which would be announced on August 25, during his post-policy interaction with the media on August 9 is proof enough that the next

Letters: RBI will move forward

With reference to Kiran Rathee and Archis Mohan's report, "Modi locks horns with cow brigade" (August 7), Prime Minister Narendra Modi's salvo to self-styled bovine protectors for two consecutive days after a long silence is significant.Hundreds of such self-proclaimed vigilante groups sprouting in Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are trying to indulge in economic terrorism by targeting cattle dealers. Gau Raksha Dal (GRD) activists have declared their intention to jeopardise the traditional trade in animals and animal products run by large sections of the Dalit and Muslim population. In connivance with the police, GRD activists are allegedly running extortion rackets.Even as the prime minister has criticised a large section of the GRD for its insidious cocktail of business and religion, he has tried to appease it by differentiating between fake and genuine cow protectors, in compliance with the Sangh Parivar's agenda of a cow protection movement. However, by makin

Letters: Contentious stand

But some of the charges against Trai could be unfounded

Regulatory vacuum

It's unfair to dismiss the Dragon's giant digital leap

China, the technology leader

Saugata Bhattacharya

An emphatic continuity: Saugata Bhattacharya

The policy maintained its accommodative stance and assured of a steady supply of durable liquidity, following up on the changed framework earlier announced in April

Sonal Varma

India's monetary policy framework has come a long way: the flexible inflation-targeting framework is enshrined in law; a monetary policy committee is being formed with a 4 per cent target set

In for the long haul: Sonal Varma

Click on graphic

Rajan the catalyst

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan, who announced his last policy on Tuesday, leaves the Indian economy in a better state than it was when he took over. A look at what has changed in his three years in office:

Raghuram Rajan, RBI

It is not wise to assume GST implementation will necessarily increase inflation: Raghuram Rajan

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday took up a discussion on a calling attention motion on the "situation arising out of impasse in the appointment of judges in high courts and the Supreme Court". Congress member Rajiv Shukla's intervention caused much mirth among members. Shukla, in a jibe at Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, said the government was scared of the judiciary and that happened when a government appointed a lawyer as its law minister. He said such ministers were afraid of judges since they would  eventually have to take up cases in the courts of these judges. Congress member Jairam Ramesh and Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Mishra said the issue between Prasad and Shukla was of domestic conflict of interest. Shukla is married to Prasad's sister and journalist Anuradha Prasad.

Afraid of judges?

Companies allot shares to anchor or cornerstone investors ahead of their initial public offering (IPO) to instill confidence in them regarding public issue. These investors, typically mutual and pension funds, have to observe a 30-day lock-in from the date of allotment but are expected to hold shares much longer than that. However, lured by gains on recent listings, some anchor investors have exited their IPO investments, defying the rationale behind anchor investing. Fund manager Samir Arora took a jibe at such investors. "Sebi should come out with a new category for reservation in IPOs -anchor speculators," he tweeted.

Anchor speculators?

With reference to Sahil Makkar's article, "India's temple of democracy needs expansion" (August 9), any proposal to shift Parliament to another building should be deliberated upon carefully, because the present building has witnessed many a historic event and occasion, the memories of which should be preserved for posterity.It was here that freedom fighter Bhagat Singh dropped two bombs in April 1929. It was in the central hall of Parliament that independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, delivered his famous "Tryst with destiny" speech. It was on the premises of Parliament that the Constitution of India was enshrined after historic orations by stalwarts.Being home to the Central Legislature, the building reminds us that it had once hosted the erstwhile Chamber of Princes, a conclave of rajas and maharajas who governed one third of what is modern-day India. The erasure of their kingdoms from the map of India is one of the proudest moments of post-Independence India. It

Letters: Preserve heritage

Damage assessment due to natural calamities needs upgrade

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