Since the global financial situation is still not stable - China is looking at dwindling growth and the Indian economy, though stable, might also be affected by global headwinds

Letters: Fiscal deficit target

Business Standard

Pressures are building up now from different quarters for a rate cut by the RBI to give a boost to investment and prop up growth

Letters: Clamour for rate cut

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in making its upcoming monetary policy decision, has many variables to juggle. Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation, as shown in Table 1, has been steady at around five per cent, while the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation is still in deflationary territory. Food inflation, shown in Table 2, is more volatile, however. Meanwhile the Index of Industrial Production, in Table 3, has decelerated sharply of late. The Purchasing Managers' Indices (PMIs) for the Indian economy, in Table 4, are barely in expansionary (above 50) territory. On the other hand, credit growth seems to have recovered marginally in the past few months, according to Table 5. Interest costs, for the first time in years, have declined as a proportion of revenue for big listed companies; profit margins have increased over last year, according to Table 6.Yields on long-term government bonds, in Table 7, have decreased - but, although the Centre's borrowing has come under con

StatsGuru: Key numbers the Reserve Bank will consider while setting policy

IPO issuances in FY16 at five-year high

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The performance of IPO, however, is a mixed bag, with 12 stocks in the green and 12 in the red compared to their IPO price

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

Case study

Opening up a marketplace of controversy

Legal and tax experts share their insights on how the guidelines will influence the existing court cases, and tax-related litigation

I am a senior citizen and always get the higher interest rate for fixed deposits. Now, I want to invest in a fixed deposit jointly with my minor granddaughter. Will I still get the higher rate of interest for this FD?The interest on fixed deposits (FDs)  is offered on the basis of the primary account holder, i.e., FD can earn higher interest rate in case the primary/first holder is a senior citizen. In an FD opened in the name of a minor, the account gets opened in 'self or minor operated by guardian' mode and therefore cannot have a joint account holder. Hence, the differential rate of interest offered to senior citizens will not be applicable on this FD.I am due to retire in five years and my son has just started working. If we take a joint home loan, will we get a longer tenure? After my retirement, can he continue paying the Equated Monthly Instalments out of his salary and claim the tax benefits?Some lenders do offer a longer tenure in this scenario, with a flexible repayment plan

Banking: Rajiv Anand

Data tracker: The digital dividend

Digital advertising grew 38.2 per cent to touch Rs 6,010 crore in 2015, expected to cross Rs 25,500 crore by 2020

Malaise afflicting infrastructure projects runs deep

Not just a flyover collapse

Double-digit lending rates too high for producers

Another 'baby' step?

There is Koffee with Karan, a celebrity chat show on television; then there is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chai pe charcha. Now, Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh has launched "Coffee with Captain", an interactive forum. The idea is to offer people an opportunity to interact with Singh, who will answer their questions and share his ideas over a cup of coffee. In the first edition of the forum held last week, Singh interacted with students from the state. While the Bharatiya Janata Party was quick to dub the forum a copy of its programme in the run-up to the 2014 general elections, the Aam Aadmi Party said it was a strategy to divert people's attention from the income-tax probe into Swiss bank accounts allegedly belonging to Singh's son.

What's brewing....

In February, a day before Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was to fly down to Punjab to address a series of election rallies, state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had said "seasonal birds" could be expected in the state as Assembly polls were round the corner. A month on, and in another end of the country, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi seems to have spotted another "seasonal bird". Last week, he described Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate, Sarbananda Sonowal, as a "migratory bird" for Majuli from where he is contesting the Assembly elections. At an election rally, Gogoi said: "While he is the son of Dibrugarh, Sarbananda migrated to Lakhimpur for the Lok Sabha poll. Then from there he is again migrating to Majuli. It is amusing to see his power-hungry politics."

Another 'migratory bird'

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar's visit to Pune later this month is causing some flutter in Maharashtra's political circles. After accepting an invitation from a students' group in the city, Kumar called for unity against "forces like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha to safeguard the Constitution". The Bharatiya Janata Party and its students' wing outfit, ABVP, have warned Kumar from entering colleges in Pune, saying his visit would be countered with a strong mobilisation of their members. While the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party have extended their support to Kumar, the All India Students' Federation, of which he is a leader, has said it does not want any representatives from either of the two parties on the dais when he speaks.

Flutter over Kanhaiya's visit

With reference to T N Ninan's piece, "An illiberal democracy", the issue facing the country isn't democracy but liberalism. If India never had a truly liberal system, no other country, too, can claim to be perfect in this respect.Regarding the Centre putting forward a formal proposition that criticism of the nation should not be permitted, this could simply mean that the nation is supreme and above the aspirations of all individuals and groups and with no affinity to any political ideology.The writer is too harsh on the present government. However, with respect to Uttarakhand, former chief minister Harish Rawat has none to blame but himself for being unable to rein in dissident legislative Assembly members in his own party, the Congress. To top it all, Rawat was caught on the wrong side in a sting operation conducted by a television news channel. That the entire issue, including the dismissal of his government, is sub judice is another matter altogether.I differ with the writer's obser

Letters: Definition of nationalism

With reference to T N Ninan's article, "An illiberal democracy" (April 2), liberalism does not mean the liberty to utter anti-national slogans or speak against any religion or faith. Even the Constitution places restrictions on liberalism, as explained by the writer in the context of criticism of other countries' dictates.I wish he had touched upon uniform civil code, which is mentioned in the Constitution. Most of the problems arise due to the differing tenets of various castes and communities. If uniform civil code is enforced with consensus most of the problems of liberalism and "azadi" would get sorted out.P K Vasudeva PanchkulaLetters 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

Letters: On uniform civil code

The tragedy caused by the collapse of an under-construction flyover on the congested Chitpore-Vivekananda Road intersection in Kolkata was clearly avoidable. The haste in completing the flyover before the West Bengal Assembly polls needs to be questioned.The project was jinxed from the beginning, running into problems and overshooting eight deadlines. The company behind the project, IVRCL, seems to have erred in starting the work even before the cement mix had turned into concrete. It deserves no mercy for calling the mishap an act of God.The state government is equally culpable for dilly-dallying on the project and then trying to rush it to gain some brownie points. It did worse in carrying out relief and rescue operations. By saying the guilty will not be spared, leaders of the ruling party are trying only to cover up their follies.N J Ravi Chander   BengaluruLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargNew Delhi 110 0

Letters: An avoidable tragedy

Religious propaganda or patriotism?

A look at how the use of the slogan has snowballed into a controversy

India pays for depending on just a few players

The Kohli-Dhoni show

When in doubt, head to the temple. That's what supporters of Harish Rawat did after he was deposed as chief minister and President's rule was imposed in Uttarakhand

In search of divine justice

Five Rajya Sabha members from Bihar, all from the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) - Gulam Rasool Balyawi, Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, K C Tyagi, Pavan Kumar Varma and Sharad Yadav

The battle for Rajya Sabha nominations

Problems with the ban on combination drugs

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