Often, when people call the customer service numbers of many companies, they are put through considerable difficulty

Letters: A customer-first approach

Business Standard

The striking down of the NJAC and a related Constitutional Amendment Act by the Supreme Court through a 4:1 majority

Letters: Too strong a criticism

This is with reference to the report, "From January, call drops can dial up to Rs 3 per day for you" (October 17)

Letters: Solve call drop issue

During an informal interaction with Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, a journalist suggested govt consider appointing a co-chairman of FTII

The only one

The BJP is planning to rope in wrestler Khali for the fourth phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, say party sources

Friend or foe?

This week, there will be no election in Bihar. Dominated by Durga Puja and festivity, frantic campaigning is likely in the last lap before the third phase of the Assembly election on October 28. Fifty Assembly seats will be covered in Phase-III, which cover the districts of Saran, Vaishali, Nalanda, Patna, Bhojpur and Buxar. Many of these regions are considered strongholds of the National Democratic Alliance, especially Patna. So, expect a lot of activity and toing and froing, especially by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The other alliance led by Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar will not leave any stone unturned either, but will concentrate on rural areas. Parts of Bhojpur and Buxar are affected by Left-wing insurgency. The Election Commission is expected to keep a close watch to ensure a violence-free election.Nagar Parishads: Litmus test for BJP before big battleElections to the civic corporations of Kolhapur and Kalyan-Dombivali will be held on November 1, a poll battle in which the big f

Bihar Polls: No polling, it's time for festival this week

Click on graphic

Credit Suisse's report on global wealth distribution reveals much about recent changes to the world economy. As Table 1 shows, Europe has lost a great deal of wealth in current exchange rate terms but not in constant exchange rate terms. North America has continued to gain disproportionate to its population, of course, as Table 2 shows. Table 3 shows how China is an outlier in its gains on market capitalisation but has lost somewhat on real estate wealth. Russia has lost market capitalisation, too. Only India and the US have gained wealth in both real estate and the market.Table 4 shows how wealth is distributed, with the poorest sections to the left and the richest to the right. North America and Europe dominate the upper end of the distribution; China and India make almost symmetrical shapes in the upper-middle and lower-middle sections respectively. As Table 5 shows, China dominates the segment that has wealth between $10,000 and $100,000.India's middle-class is a lot smaller than i

StatsGuru: Where is the world's wealth?

Gun violence and illegal arms in India

Munger in Bihar is an example of 'Make in India' but of the illegal kind. The district is a hub of illegal gun manufacturing, with around 300 factories involved in manufacturing and assembling of single shot weapons to even sophisticated AK47s. Here, single-shot 'kattas' can be purchased for Rs 2,000, while a semi-automatic pistol would cost Rs 15,000-20,000 apiece. A carbine is available for Rs 1 lakh and an AK-47 for nearly Rs 2 lakh.Munger's gun factories are the primary source of illegal weapons across India, particularly north India. Of the 300,000 cases of Arms Act for illegal possession registered in 2010-14, half were in Uttar Pradesh. According to National Crime Records Bureau figures, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 40 per cent, nearly 7,000, of all deaths across the country in gun-related violence from 2010 to 2014 and unlicensed arms accounted for 90 per cent of these. Bihar trailed second with 3,580 murders, of which 3,397 were by unlicensed arms.

Case study

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

Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & chief executive officer at HDFC Life, answers your questionsI have misplaced my life insurance policy document. How do I get a duplicate?You must immediately inform your insurance company . You are entitled to a duplicate policy document, for which you have to give a written request and an indemnity. You will also have to pay a fee for the duplicate copy.I am covered under a group life insurance policy in my company. If I leave this company, can I pay the premium on my own and continue the cover? Or will it lapse automatically?Ideally, group life policies are one-year renewable ones. Therefore, the employer might allow you to continue till the end of the year, after which it will depend on the group policy schemes. In most cases, the cover is discontinued.I pay my life insurance policy premium on a monthly basis. Can this be changed to annual payments? What is the procedure?Yes, most life insurance policies have such a provision. You could call or write to th

Readers' Corner: Life Insurance

An article in your newspaper by Nitin Sethi, titled "Appeals against green min to lie with new body not NGT" (October 12)

Letters: Unfair assessment

Recently, there has been a spate of reports arguing that in line with the drop in recent policy benchmark and policy rates, small savings (SS) rates ought to be reduced

Letters: Small savings review

While West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra's schedule remains packed with roadshows and meetings to attract investment to the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's priority this festive season clearly lies elsewhere. While addressing industrialists at the national council meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry, she said she was sorry she wouldn't be staying at the event very long. The reason: She had to inaugurate some puja pandals, join a garba session and, of course, attend a party meeting.

Festive spirit

Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad was miffed that some newspapers did not carry a report after his briefing on spectrum trading and sharing norms a few days ago

One-sided view

A clear shift in the strategy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became visible as the second phase of polling for the Bihar Assembly got underway

Track change

Judiciary must now do a better job of selecting judges

Judicial independence

Greater need to stimulate domestic growth drivers

Falling exports

Jack Trout

Ramesh Jude Thomas

Thanks to their digital and social footprint, brands are becoming more global than ever before. Experts say having a global strategy - even before you launch your product - is a must to remain competitive. At a time when it is impossible to build a sustainable competitive advantage with disruptive moves coming in from every corner, The Strategist asks what constitutes a global strategy and how brands can be globally competitiveBuild a strong communication programme to tell your story: Jack TroutFirst and foremost you must start with an analysis of your competition. Where are they strong? Where are they weak? You avoid strength and exploit weakness. Generally, you are after a point of difference upon which you can tell your story. Without that point of difference you usually are reduced to using price as a strategy which is not a very profitable way to go as your competitors have pencils with which they can use to reduce their prices. Consider the Bajaj motorcycle story.In recent years,

Building a global brand

The larger problem is with government awards

Giving back prizes

New spectrum trading norms fail to recognise ground reality

Future disputes

State government debt may not be properly rated

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