Two-wheelers account for more accidents than four-wheelers; this is not surprising as riding without safety helmets is common in many places

Letters: Curb drunken driving

Business Standard

The failure of Bt Cotton crop accounts for a large number of farmer suicides in India

Letters: Dangers of GM crops

A snapshot of PE activity &amp; deals

Liquidity events/exits this yearThe year has seen 99 exits. There were 47 merger and acquisition exits worth $299 million. Providence Equity Partners sold 3.5 per cent stake in Idea Cellular for $205 million, while Arisaig Asia Consumer Fund sold 1.9 per cent & 1.2 per cent stake in Marico and Britannia Industries for $84 million and $60 million. There were seven initial public offerings worth $526 million.

A snapshot of pe activity & deals

Domestic plays to ride global uncertainties

The Indian stock market has seen sharp swings in both directions in the past two years. From a level of 22,200 in early May 2014, just before the Narendra Modi government was voted to power, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 35 per cent and made an intra-day peak of 30,024 on March 4, 2015. The Sensex fell to 22,500 on February 29 this year, only to rise 20 per cent to 27,167 currently. But, at these levels, with earnings yet to show clear signs of recovery and valuations above the market's long-term average, the risks for investors are elevated.After the run-up from their end-February lows, the Sensex is now trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of 21 times reported earnings. Notably, the BSE MidCap and BSE SmallCap indices are trading at premium valuations - trailing price-to-earnings multiple of 25.3 times and 42.7 times, respectively - which make it increasingly necessary for investors to be cautious.Higher global uncertainties such as decelerating growth in China or the UK's exit fr

But govt must ensure safeguards for GM product trials

A Nobel endorsement

New HRD minister's priority should be less friction, more work

Mr Javadekar's agenda

Rajan's successor at Mint Street will have a tough time resolving some of the compelling issues confronting the Indian economy, including managing volatilities

Letters: Striking a balance

While no one would likely shed tears over Smriti Irani's ouster from the human resource development ministry - given that she became known more for courting controversies than for doing her job - giving Prakash Javadekar (pictured) charge of that ministry is something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have done right at the beginning.However, Javadekar's successor in the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change might have to answer uncomfortable questions about waiving the Rs 200-crore fine, which was imposed on Adani Port & SEZ Ltd during the second term of the United Progressive Alliance on the recommendation of an expert committee for allegedly causing environmental damage during the construction of Mundra Port.The Congress has already made an issue out of this and will likely be joined by others in the Opposition. A senior official in the ministry has defended the action of waiving the fine on the ground that there was no legal backing for imposing it. It is

Letters: Unanswered questions

There was a focus on inducting more ministers from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, which are going to the polls in the near future

Letters: Pluses and minuses

Yadav started shouting at the journalist and asked him to delete the picture

What makes Tej Pratap angry

Meghwal was one of the three members of Parliament (MP) who would bicycle to Parliament

Power cycle

Adman Suhel Seth has a habit of retweeting random requests for help and engaging with strangers

Suhel's witty advice

Click on graphic

The council of ministers was expanded on Tuesday with  19 members of Parliament swearing in as ministers of state. Here is a snapshot of their activity in Parliament.In the Lok Sabha, P P Chaudhary and Arjun Ram Meghwal topped the attendance chart with 98 per cent attendance with Chaudary asking most number of questions in the Lok Sabha at 394. Bijapur MP Ramesh Jigajinagi was among quietest asking just one question in the last two years. SS Ahluwalia did not ask at all.  In the Upper House, MJ Akbar and VIjay Goel had top attendance of 94 per cent. While Akbar almost sat quiet through his one-year term, not asking any questions, Mansukh Mandavia led with 449 questions in four years. For Rajya Sabha members, the data is for the period of their current term. As each of them started their tenure on different dates, their activity would depend on the length of the current term till now.

The quiet and the argumentative

Portfolio reshuffle more significant than induction of ministers

A major expansion

Need for privacy laws and norms to protect security

Ineffective ban

Either it was nerves or his usual absent-mindedness, but Ramdas Athawale, the Republican Party of India (A) chief, had to be reminded by President Pranab Mukherjee that he could not just rapidly read the oath; he also needed to pronounce his name. Athawale, dressed in deep blue headgear that has come to mark his Dalit identity, proceeded to complete the oath with frequent help from the President. It was unlike the Athawale who is usually so effusive that his press conferences last over two hours. He is also seen in Parliament bringing the house down with his short poems. Athawale was one of the very few among the 19 newly inducted ministers in the Union Cabinet to take oath in the name of truth and not God. He was also the only one to end his oath with the salutation, "Jai Bhim, Jai Bharat". "Jai Bhim" is a salutation in honour of B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution and a Dalit icon. Besides Athawale, the other minister to take oath in the name of truth was Anupriya Patel.

An oath in the name of truth

There were several long faces among the council of ministers at the elevation of Prakash Javadekar to the Cabinet rank. There was speculation, both within the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party, that Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan might also get Cabinet ranks. But at the event, Javadekar stole the show. The Shiv Sena, which was initially sulking, agreed to attend the oath-taking ceremony after some cajoling, while the Congress and most other Opposition parties chose not to attend.

Long faces and smiles

Lest it is interpreted mischievously, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj went on Twitter to explain her absence from the oath-taking ceremony of some Union Cabinet ministers at the Durbar Hall in Rashtrapati Bhavan at 11 am on Tuesday. She tweeted that she couldn't make it because of a meeting with the visiting foreign minister of Hungary. Swaraj also took a dig at the media. She tweeted, "Media, please avoid the headline: Sushma skips oath ceremony." She then also tweeted her photograph with the Hungarian foreign minister.

Sushma skips oath ceremony

With reference to the report, "Tax department must trust assessees: Jaitley" (July 4), the finance minister has assured us that he would make all grey areas in taxation clearer.In an effort to stem tax evasion, the Income Tax Department introduced Section 40A(3) that prohibits all aggregate payments of over Rs 20,000 by bearer cheques or cash to a single entity or person in a day. The law came into effect on April 1, 2009. But it is being flouted by most of the big hospitals, which even in emergency cases and irrespective of the time of day, demand advance payments of lakhs of rupees in cash. The patient is neither admitted nor is medical care provided to him or her until the advance cash payment has been made.Now, for the grey area. Why has no action being taken by the income tax department for such violations? Can the department disclose to the public how many hospitals have been booked for this violation?Also, are the hapless patients or their relatives and friends, who have to make

Letters: Grey area in taxation

With reference to the report, "New technology making employees obsolete: Naik" (July 5) by Shivani Shinde Nadhe and Sheetal Agarwal, the poor quality of education in India neither satisfies the belly nor the soul.Two recent surveys revealed that 80 per cent of engineering graduates and 93 per cent of B-school graduates are unemployable. It seems the government and the educational institutes are yet to realise that by not imparting practical skills required by employers they are making the situation worse.All hopes of innovation, entrepreneurship and the much-vaunted demographic dividend will come to naught if the education gained after spending so much money is useless and does not give students the confidence to face the world and achieve something.On the other hand, there is the threat of redundancy of workers due to automation and loss or lack of skill development. While the first problem is supposedly being addressed by retraining, at least by software companies, what about the sec

Letters: Tune into the job market

Eschewed populism to stick to fiscal prudence: Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tells Business Standard the Cabinet expansion will reflect Budget priorities

Business Standard

Business Standard

Page 328 - Business Standard

Letters: Curb drunken driving

Letters: Dangers of GM crops

A snapshot of PE activity & deals

Domestic plays to ride global uncertainties

A Nobel endorsement

Mr Javadekar's agenda

Letters: Striking a balance

Letters: Unanswered questions

Letters: Pluses and minuses

What makes Tej Pratap angry

Power cycle

Suhel's witty advice

The quiet and the argumentative

A major expansion

Ineffective ban

An oath in the name of truth

Long faces and smiles

Sushma skips oath ceremony

Letters: Grey area in taxation

Letters: Tune into the job market