The autonomy in regard to the function of the tax officers is in relation to bona fide action and not mala fide action

Letters: No interference

Business Standard

The phenomenal rise of swadeshi fast-moving consumer goods company (FMCG) company Patanjali is a matter of pride for all as it is giving it's rivals a good run for their money!

Letters: Eco-friendly FMCG

Shaky fiscal grounds

The government sought Parliament's approval for an extra Rs 20,948 crore for 2016-17 through the first supplementary demand for grants tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday.Though the additional gross expenditure sought was Rs 1,03,013 crore, Rs 82,065 crore would be met by savings of the ministries, departments and by enhanced receipts and recoveries. If no additional revenues come during the year, the Centre's fiscal deficit will increase to 3.7 per cent of GDP from the budgeted 3.5 per cent.The fiscal deficit has already touched 61 per cent of  the budgeted amount in the first three months of the financial year. Here is a look at the government's math:

Large numbers of stunted children diminish the India story

Falling short

But kerosene subsidy reform must be backed by better targeting

Baby steps work

We had to wait 65 long years after passing of the Banking Regulation Act for Raghuram Rajan to arrive and tell us some ingenuous solutions to handle some of the tricky problems faced by Indian banking sector

Letters: On-tap bank licences

As rightly mentioned in the editorial, internal democracy is the most critical aspect of any political party

Letters: How did it happen?

The NGT's latest orders are bound to create some serious "ripples" amongst all the stakeholders

Letters: Tame the root cause

Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi - both of whom have served full terms and have been re-elected - occupy 10 Circular Road in the heart of state capital, Patna

Bungalows aplenty

BJP workers have also been asked to carry out "tiranga yatra" (Tricolour procession) on motorcycles and two-wheelers

Short questions, please

Power theft has been a major drag on the exchequer of West Bengal as well as other states, such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

Special force for power theft?

Last weekend, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal submitted a report on the flood situation in the state to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was on a visit. The report comprised nine photographs - one of them with a difference. It was a picture clicked two years back during the Noakhali (Bangladesh) flood, depicting a young boy carrying a baby deer to safety. In defence, an official said residents in and around Kaziranga National Park have been rescuing animals as a wave of flood have swept large parts of the state and that might have misled officials into including the picture.

Troubled waters

Fitness is the new mantra for Trinamool Congress (TMC) ministers and MLAs these days. Party leaders are avoiding junk and fried food in line with party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's instructions. Education minister Partha Chatterjee has stopped having his favourite samosa, irrigation minister Rajib Bandopadhyay is avoiding oil and spices in his food, and co-operative minister Arup Roy and food minister Jyotipriya Mallik have resorted to yoga. Banerjee herself goes for brisk walks every now and then and has stopped having rice for some years now.

For a fitter TMC

The sight of rocket launchers and a battle tank parked inside the Parliament House premises on Monday surprised members of Parliament, visitors and journalists alike. No one could remember having seen a battle tank inside the Parliament House premises ever before. Officials said the heavy weaponry was part of an exhibition by the Defence Research and Development Organisation to showcase its products and systems for the benefit of the MPs. The exhibition will be on from August 3 to August 5 in the corridor leading to the Parliament Library Building. A government source, tongue in cheek, said the weapons were without any ammunition.

Arms but no ammunition

With reference to "Flood fury" (August 1), it is highly intriguing to observe that the entire nation currently faces nature's fury in the form of the widespread floods. The flooding of vast areas across the country has become more of an annual ritual. It is important to point out that some parts are still confronted with the problem of scanty rainfall at the same time. The editorial disturbingly reveals that along with lightning strikes, the floods have claimed 85 lives in the last few days in Assam, Bihar and Odisha. There are also reports about the displacement of an estimated 6.8 million people.Media reports have also shown the pathetic conditions prevailing in some of the nation's "smart cities" such as New Delhi, Bengaluru and Gurgaon soon after rainfall, which reflect the abject failure of the respective administrations. The prolonged traffic jam faced by motorists in Gurgaon was unprecedented, and left the state government red-faced owing to its inability to resolve the problem

Letters: Bowing to nature's fury

With reference to "Flood fury" (August 1) rains are always a test of the quality of urban infrastructure. The country does not seem to draw any lessons from each instance of floods - be it in Kashmir, Chennai or even Uttarakhand. Gurgaon is seen as a "slum of the rich" - a town of the affluent but with poor infrastructure. Seventy per cent of its water needs are being met from below ground which has led to a sharp decline in the water table in the last 20 years, while only 40 per cent of the town has sewer lines. As for Bengaluru, a 1005 per cent increase in concretisation (paved surfaces) during 1973-2016 has resulted in an adverse impact on the garden city's wetlands, green spaces and groundwater levels. No wonder, both the cities sank.One wonders when elementary sense will dawn on our cities to stop encroachment on spaces like catchment areas and wetlands that are meant to receive floodwaters and replenish groundwater. Drains have to be regularly de-silted and cleared of plastic so

Letters: Poor infrastructure

For MSEs, the promoter is the bank to bank on

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are typically promoter-driven, be it operations or financing. A CRISIL study of 6,000 MSEs shows that promoters contribute 50-60 per cent of the net working capital requirement - or twice what they are supposed to contribute - because of restricted access to formal financial institutions.Delays in receivables is a widespread affliction in the sector, which forces promoters to regularly infuse funds to keep the operations going and manage cash flow mismatches. While the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, stipulates that receivables of MSEs must be limited to 45 days, CRISIL's analysis shows the average is closer to 65 days.Promoters have to also infuse funds during business exigencies such as unexpected spikes in raw material prices, foreign exchange losses, unanticipated large orders, or delays in insurance claims after calamities such as floods or fire or strikes - and ensure timely production and deliveries.Additionally, MSE

The NGT's order on diesel vehicles is not well thought out

Think long term

With reference to "Breaking the cycle of drought and flood" (August 1), the idea conceived to mitigate the misery of drought and flood by enhancing storage of water bodies for fish rearing could definitely work as a boon. The biggest problem in this regard is lack of coordination between the government and the people. Most states have set up departments of fisheries to promote pisciculture. Their function is to steer sustainable growth of fisheries. However, governments have failed to delivering benefits as envisaged. Among the states, Kerala leads in fisheries on account of efficient use of water, fish and human resources. Fish conservation should also be made a part of water management.Sushil Bakliwal JaipurLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargNew Delhi 110 002Fax: (011) 23720201E-mail: letters@bsmail.inAll letters must have a postal address and telephone number

Business Standard

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Page 318 - Business Standard

Letters: No interference

Letters: Eco-friendly FMCG

Shaky fiscal grounds

Falling short

Baby steps work

Letters: On-tap bank licences

Letters: How did it happen?

Letters: Tame the root cause

Bungalows aplenty

Short questions, please

Special force for power theft?

Troubled waters

For a fitter TMC

Arms but no ammunition

Letters: Bowing to nature's fury

Letters: Poor infrastructure

For MSEs, the promoter is the bank to bank on

Think long term

Letters: Fish conservation

The disease of dynasty