Government should stay the course on pricing reforms

Right moves

Business Standard

India must follow up on its promises to the region

Dams and ports

Sportsman and symbol

Telecom regulator ties itself up in knots

Net neutrality confusion

A city like Bengaluru can never become a smart city or a global dirty with a regulatory system caught in a time warp

Letters: Adapt to the digital age

Although the external situation continues to be uncertain and challenging, on the domestic front the general outlook is positive and growth remains steady

Letters: Focus shifts to Rajan

Since the CPI has already risen from 4.8% in March to 5.4% in April, mainly due to food inflation, the RBI may have deliberately opted to maintain an accommodative stance

Letters: Let's wait and watch

At least two mourners from India think that the late Muhammad Ali's forte was football, not boxing

Muddled tributes to Ali

On a free fall

HDFC Ergo General Insurance, the insurance arm of mortgage lender HDFC, has acquired L&T General Insurance for Rs 551 crore, the first such consolidation in India's crowded general insurance sector.The country's insurance market which currently has 29 players in the general insurance space and 24 players in the life insurance space has seen continuous activity with respect to stake sale deals, there have also been cases of complete exit of one partner in the joint venture.Business Standard gives you a snapshot of similar such deals in the past:July 2012 Tata AIG rechristened as TATA AIA following exit of American International Group (AIG) from Hong Kong-based insurer AIA GroupJanuary 2013 Exide Industries decides to acquire 50 per cent remaining stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance for Rs 550 crore. Post this, ING exits ventureMarch 2013 Pantaloon Retail enters into agreement with Industrial Investment Trust Limited (IITL) to sell 22.5 per cent of its stake in Future General India Lif

Funding is an issue for MSMEs, but track record helps

However, within the segment, players with a longer track record have a greater chance of securing such funding

With reference to "Indradhanush set to get bigger, better" (June 6), amid the elevated bad assets and losses incurred by many public sector banks

Letters: Welcome step

With reference to "PuPuP: public-public partnership" (June 6), a public-public partnership is simply a collaboration between two or more public entities to provide or improve public services. Unlike PPPs (public-private partnerships), neither partner in a PuPuP expects to earn a profit from the collaboration. The goal is to improve efficiency and equity. PuPuPs employ basic strategies to leverage the capacity of cooperating public utilities to increase efficiency and reduce operating and capital costs. The failure of PPPs in India is the absence of a regulatory environment and lack of comprehensive database about the projects to be awarded under such schemes. Besides, inadequate provision of details of land acquisition and forest clearances is also a bottleneck in these projects. The private sector is dependent on commercial banks to raise debt for PPP projects. With commercial banks reaching the sectoral exposure limits and large Indian infrastructure companies being highly leveraged,

Letters: Path to PuPuP

With reference to "Sportsman and symbol" (June 6), reams have been written in praise of the legendary Muhammad Ali, a measure of what he meant to his admirers worldwide

Letters: Champion of kindness

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar occupying two sprawling, colonial-era government bungalows in the heart of Patna has sparked a war of words among politicians in the state

Nitish's two houses

After a recent review of state-owned banks, FM Arun Jaitley told his audience that the govt would empower banks to deal with their bad loans burden and protect them so that they were able to take commercially prudent decisions

Offer of protection

BJP leadership is busy making new friends in J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK and YSR Congress, led by YS Jaganmohan Reddy

New friends

Click on graphic

The March quarter results of India Inc suggest a recovery is underway. Net sales of 2,563 companies grew 0.45 per cent in the March quarter of 2015-16, after contracting for four consecutive quarters since the corresponding quarter of FY15, as Table 1 shows. Excluding banks and oil & gas companies, sales growth of 2,511 companies was higher at four per cent. Profit growth (excluding banks and oil & gas companies) also perked up to 60 per cent, after contracting since the December quarter of FY15, as shown in Table 2.The growth in net sales should be seen in conjunction with the growing gap between nominal and real GDP growth. This suggests the period of deflation where there was no revenue growth is now over. As shown in Table 3, corporate top-line growth is correlated with nominal GDP growth.Table 4 shows the top-line growth was driven by refractories, shipbuilding, sugar, IT hardware and petrochemicals but dragged down by retail, telecom handsets, crude oil and natural gas, a

StatsGuru: Corporate results indicate a recovery

Business Standard analyses one family's finances and suggests a way forward

Case study

Realty check

Budget: Rs 2.5-3 croreBusiness Standard brings you a snapshot of average current rates and unit sizes in localities that offer property in the price range of Rs 2.5-3 crore. If you are looking at buying real estate, an idea about prevailing rates would come in handy

Rakesh Jain

Rakesh Jain, chief executive officer, Reliance General Insurance, answers your questionsI have not made a claim on my motor insurance in the past five years. If I buy a new car, can I use the no-claims bonus that has accumulated in my policy? Yes you can, as the no-claims bonus follows the fortune of the insured and not the vehicle. The new vehicle can be substituted on the policy to avail the benefit, provided the class of vehicle is the same.Is there any mandatory insurance for shop owners? It is not mandatory for shop owners to take insurance. However, owners who handle specified hazardous materials (as defined by law) have to take public liability insurance policy. Nevertheless it's advisable to take shopkeeper insurance which under its multiple sections provides coverage for damage to shop and its contents caused by fire , theft, etc.If I purchase a family health insurance policy in the city where I work, will it cover my wife and kids who are in another city? Yes, if your wife an

General Insurance: Rakesh Jain

Historian and author Ramachandra Guha has said that elevating Rahul Gandhi to the post of Congress president is like making a player

Business Standard

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