With reference to the Weekend article by Manavi Kapur, "A new Sanskrit wave?" (April 30), efforts to revive dying languages through the medium of cinema should be applauded

Letters: Becoming a polyglot

Business Standard

Shyam Benegal panel offers good advice on CBFC's roleA committee headed by film-maker Shyam Benegal has made a progressive and well-timed recommendation to the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) should not impose excision on films and its role be limited to certification. This suggestion implies that the Board would have to jettison its proclivity to ban films or modify content and limit itself to certification under specific categories such as Adult, U12 or U15 (i.e. fit for viewing by those below 12 or 15 years of age) and so on. It is telling that for years, the CBFC has been baldly known by "Censor Board" - and it appears to have lived up to this relatively pejorative label in the new century. The roster of films the board has banned in the 2000s covers those that deal with the rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), Islamic terrorists, the Gujarat riots, Hindu social mores, the Catholic church, sex,

From censor to certifier

One of the wealthiest politicians in Haryana, former chief minister Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi re-joined the Congress last week

Bishnoi re-joins Congress, Hoodas keep away

Former SP member of Parliament Amar Singh hosted the reception in Delhi when Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother, Shivpal Singh Yadav's son got married a few weeks ago

Trouble in the SP over Amar Singh's re-entry bid

While the finance ministry maintains it has only "advised" the labour ministry to lower the interest rate to 8.7 per cent, the Bandaru Dattatreya-led labour ministry says it was a "directive"

Letters: The power to dispose

The votaries of beef ban and Bharat Mata ki Jai have created little impact on people's mindset but have provided the anti-BJP media and political parties an opportunity to cash in on the controversy

Letters: Time for Modi to change

China and the iPhone slow, but India shines

Apple's diagnosis

EPF dilemmas

Even Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti's attire wasn't the usual saffron, but yellow

Yellow for Thursday

A number of Lok Sabha members demanded on Thursday that the government bring back the Koh-i-Noor from the United Kingdom

Whose Koh-i-Noor?

Banerjee said in an interview that the TMC had a natural alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party

'Staged' fight

The spiritual gurus running these businesses would do well to note that the aura of spiritualism might not shield them from the regulatory structure for too long

Companies run by god-men need regulation too

If he can't protect India's fish, how can he protect its waters? That was Congress President Sonia Gandhi's argument as she addressed an election rally in South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal urging people to not believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promises to protect the country's border. "The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress have banned fishermen's trawlers, even as fishermen of neighbouring countries are openly fishing in Indian waters," she said. "Modi, who makes tall promises on border security, is unable to save your fish. How will he protect our border? The Pathankot incident is an example of it."

Fishing for votes

Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla phoned almost all the six recently nominated members to the Rajya Sabha to congratulate them. Heptulla apprised them of the challenges nominated members face in the House, as they are given only a couple of minutes to speak on issues and that, too, rarely. She told them to elect a Rajya Sabha chairperson, who would be more generous in allocating time to members. The Vice-President of India is the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. Senior ministers in the government have taken this as a signal from Heptulla that she is an aspirant to the post. However, at least one senior minister, who frequently eulogises Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is purportedly positioning himself as a possible successor to Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

Succession planning

Last week, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. But Sidhu is yet to take oath even though the other five members nominated with him have done so already. Sidhu conveyed his inability to take oath earlier this week, citing commentary commitments during the ongoing Indian Premier League. While the matches are held across India, Sidhu has to station himself in the television studios in Mumbai. The former cricketer, however, was in Parliament on Wednesday and senior ministers urged him to take oath sooner than later.

Cricket versus the Rajya Sabha

Assaying gold jewellery may be a good idea, but it's tricky

Hallmark complications

The editorial, "Balancing power" (April 27) raises some pertinent questions about the role of the Lok Sabha Speaker in allowing the Aadhaar Bill to be considered a Money Bill and that of the Speaker of the Uttarakhand Assembly in refusing to allow a division - the counting of legislators' votes - on the state Budget.Irrespective of the final verdict of the Supreme Court on the alleged partisan role played by the Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker and the consequent imposition of President's rule in the state, the Speaker's discretion should never turn into an act of discrimination.The editorial is correct in pointing out that the two major national parties - the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party - have each taken opposing views on this debate at the central and state levels.In Uttarakhand, the Congress is defending the rights of the Speaker, while in Delhi it is questioning them, indicating that this is possibly a problem of institutional weakness that transcends political parties. Thi

Letters: Let the legislatures decide

With reference to Deepak Lal's article, "Bring back DDT" (April 27), the discovery of DDT saved many people, crops and livestock from insect-borne diseases. On the other hand, being an organic pollutant that found its way into the food chains of delicate ecosystems, DDT caused great damage to various organisms as well as humans. The gravity of the problem had reached such a level that birds such as the Brown pelican would have been wiped out by the 1980s had the US not banned DDT in the 1970s.In nature nothing exists alone; we are all interconnected in its complex web. We must extensively use all viable options to control and prevent the breeding of mosquitoes and use insecticides such as DDT only as a last resort, not the first option. India should embrace the Stockholm Convention guidelines as soon as possible, and ensure a trade-off between human health and the health of ecosystems.M Venkateswara Rao   VijayawadaLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business Standa

Letters: DDT not the first option

The report, "Bangladesh bank hack attack: SWIFT compromised, alarms raised" (April 26), is a grave reminder of the risks of digital banking. Carrying out banking transactions through digital channels requires only a set of log-in IDs and passwords. Even top bank executives, when they are busy, tend to let subordinates know their passwords.The remittance orders coming from the Bangladesh Central Bank were never doubted as they appeared to be usual transactions. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBN) can't be faulted since the remittances were from a country's central bank. The FRBN authorities must be complimented for blocking fraudulent transactions worth $870 million.The Bangladesh fraud is a warning to banks in India to fix their security systems. Despite the checks and counter-checks, the technical staff of banks tends to take cyber systems lightly. When a fraud is reported, the management alerts them on the possible misuse of the system, but afterwards it is back to business a

Business Standard

Business Standard

Page 349 - Business Standard

Letters: Becoming a polyglot

From censor to certifier

Bishnoi re-joins Congress, Hoodas keep away

Trouble in the SP over Amar Singh's re-entry bid

Letters: The power to dispose

Letters: Time for Modi to change

Apple's diagnosis

EPF dilemmas

Yellow for Thursday

Whose Koh-i-Noor?

'Staged' fight

Companies run by god-men need regulation too

Fishing for votes

Succession planning

Cricket versus the Rajya Sabha

Hallmark complications

Letters: Let the legislatures decide

Letters: DDT not the first option

Letters: Avoid complacency

Retail licence Raj