The larger problem is with government awards

Giving back prizes

Business Standard

New spectrum trading norms fail to recognise ground reality

Future disputes

State government debt may not be properly rated

Implicit guarantees

The politics of 'naming' is a culture embedded in the Indian democracy and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a veteran at that. So, on the day of Mahalaya, three days after the city's longest flyover was officially inaugurated by Banerjee, Kolkata residents woke up to full-page newspaper advertisements announcing it would be called 'Ma'. Originally named Parama Flyover - as it connects Parama Island with Park Circus - the rechristening followed instructions from the CM's office. This opened the floodgates of conjecture, as people began speculating that the two flanks of the flyover would be called 'Mati' and 'Manush', fulfilling Banerjee's wish of leaving her signature on the city's most recent architecture. Since coming to power, she has taken it upon herself to name and rename roads, metro stations, flyovers and bridges of Kolkata, prompting a senior state government official to say, "Like every Bengali, Kolkata landmarks now have a bhalo naam (official name) and a daak n

It's all in the name

Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao, who was in Delhi earlier this week, met Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for communications and information technology, on Wednesday. The minister asked Colao to urgently address the issue of call drops that has affected cell phone users across the country, irrespective of their service provider. The unflappable Colao advised Prasad not to worry too much - even he was a victim of the menace. Apparently, Colao couldn't complete a recent call to an e-commerce company head, who was using another mobile network, in another Indian city, because the call kept getting disconnected.

What a reason!

Earlier this week, Union Minister for Power Piyush Goyal launched a key scheme for rural electrification by deploying about 300 volunteers in remote locations to monitor its progress. While the minister connected with the states via a video conferencing link, Bihar was missing, as the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections in the state had kicked in. Interestingly, a majority of the volunteers belonged to Bihar. The minister was visibly amused, clarifying that the choice of volunteers had nothing to do with elections in that state as they had been chosen and trained months in advance. Asked if he had a time frame in mind to present the key reforms in the power sector before the Cabinet, the minister said, "Very soon". When some journalists asked if "very soon" meant "after the Bihar elections", Goyal quipped that the government of the day did not depend on elections to push through reforms, citing the event as a case in point.

A case in point

With reference to the report, "Money laundering scandal: From Vikaspuri to Hong Kong" (October 15), the trade-based money laundering in the Bank of Baroda shows that both export trade officials in India and import trade officials in Hong Kong compromised rules. As the transactions were big-ticket deals, even the Reserve Bank of India, to whom such transactions are reported on a post facto basis, did not detect them.Given that there are several control documents in the form of bill of entry and bill of lading, it is surprising that the fraudulent transactions went unnoticed. Even the purchase orders received by exporters do not appear to have been verified by the bank. Another surprise is the involvement of HDFC Bank staff in the fraud. The bank is known to have a rigorous system of checks and balances. In the wake of this episode, risk management practices at all banks need to be revisited.K V Rao   BengaluruLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru

Letters: Revisit bank practices

This is with reference to the editorial, "Over to Sebi" published on October 6. This was preceded by an article titled, "Sebi and black money" (October 5). A strong opinion has been expressed about the functioning of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) without ascertaining facts from it or caring to find out the legal arrangement of the role of various agencies.Law breakers do not work in silos, trying to violate only one law or the jurisdiction of a singular government agency. Often, their illegal activities encompass various provisions of law, which may fall within the domain of multiple government agencies. Sebi's mandate is to protect the interest of investors and curb market manipulation. All transactions in the secondary market are permitted only through banking channels where AML checks are already in place.A copy of the letter written by the then revenue secretary on July 28, 2015, has been obtained and conclusion has been drawn that Sebi is a 'major roadblock'. No ca

Letters: A clarification - Over to Sebi

Bank of Baroda fraud poses new challenges for PSU banks

Remittance scandal

We're positive on listing in India: Vittorio Colao

Vittorio Colao

Lower prices fostering premium segment: Sanjiv Mehta

Sanjiv Mehta

Click on graphic

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country's most valued company, fell4.4 per cent on Wednesday after the company's September quarter revenues missed market expectations. The price drop was highest since October last year. A few brokerages, including Citi, downgraded the stock, citing pressure on margins due to slowing growth.

TCS stock slumps after earnings miss estimate

India Inc also must play a more meaningful role

NSDC needs re-skilling

Infosys and TCS prepare for long-term challenges

Headwinds for IT

When Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad arrived at the venue of an election rally in Gaya earlier this week, he got angry. First, there were only about a hundred people at the venue. Worse, the party's candidate from Atri constituency, Kunti Devi, was nowhere to be seen. What finally made him lose his cool were the loudspeakers of the public address system that were facing the stage. He yelled at the person in charge of setting up the system and admonished the sparse crowd to calm down and listen to him. A fumbling Kunti Devi arrived in some time, but the crowd remained thin. Prasad left the venue in a fit of annoyance.

Nothing works

Vodafone Global Chief Executive Vittorio Colao is said to have expressed regret to Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad, over comments about the minister and the secretary (telecom) made by the company's India head Sunil Sood. While Colao met Prasad on Wednesday to discuss various issues, including spectrum trading and call drops, Sood was denied a meeting with him and had to wait outside. Prasad expressed his disappointment to Colao, but clarified that "those remarks (Sood's comments) will not be held against Vodafone", according to people in the know. In August, Sood said that "the comments of the (telecom) minister and the secretary don't count as the view of the entire government" on the issue of penalising telecom operators for call drops. The matter was raised with the company and a written explanation was sent to the minister subsequently, blaming the media for quoting Sood out of context. Since making those comments, Sood has not been

Denied a meeting

The nine-day Navratri festival kicked off on Tuesday, but for some, it meant more work than usual. A Bengaluru-based company hosting a press briefing in Delhi this week was sending out invites to journalists through a public relations (PR) agency. The event was supposed to be followed by dinner. A harried executive from the PR agency called journalists on the day of the event to inform them that the host had made special arrangements in view of the ongoing festivities and that the dinner spread would consist of food that conformed to Navratri rituals.

Special arrangement

With reference to A K Bhattacharya's column, "Turning airports into railway stations" (October 14), the author has spoken the truth. During peak hours city airports do look like railway stations such as Dadar in Mumbai, with long queues everywhere from check-in to boarding. Flights regularly get delayed at Mumbai and Delhi airports, apparently due to congestion on the runway. Often, the duration of a flight is extended as it cannot land on the runway. As flights arrive late, flyers are forced to wait after boarding the aircraft.The columnist has meticulously explained with the help of statistics that the present capacity of airports is inadequate during peak hours and considering the rate at which passenger traffic is growing, even commissioning a second airport would not solve the problem.One question that arose in my mind is whether the architects considered average traffic or peak-hour traffic while designing these airports. I think they should take into account peak-hour traffic wh

Letters: Congested airports

Apropos Nilanjana Roy's column, "Why writers are returning Sahitya Akademi awards" (October 13), the incidents which angered the artists to return the awards viz, the lynching of a Muslim man in Dadri for allegedly storing beef and the murder of three rationalists in the last two years, are so disconnected in time, geography and politics as to convince a neutral observer of the genuineness of their 'anger'.Rationalist M M Kalburgi's murder occurred in Congress-ruled Karnataka while the Dadri incident took place in Uttar Pradesh where the Samajwadi Party is in power. Both parties claim to wear secularism on their sleeves. Narendra Dabholkar was killed in 2013 when the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party alliance ruled Maharashtra, with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in power at the Centre. Yet, the entire blame for destroying secularism, liberty and tolerance is placed at the door of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance. This smacks of blatant partisanshi

Letters: Questionable dissent

Angus Deaton's economics Nobel has lessons for India

Poverty & its measurement

Huge hoardings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah have been erected across Bihar. These hoardings dominate the skyline in Patna, as well as small towns, and have monopolised spaces in and around railway stations. But hoardings with pictures of BJP's Bihar leaders such as Sushil Kumar Modi, or even those of its allies such as Ram Vilas Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha and Jitan Ram Manjhi are few and far between. It is as if one of the two Gujarati gentlemen would shift to 1, Anne Marg - the official residence of the Bihar chief minister - if the BJP-led alliance were to win the Assembly polls in the state.

Business Standard

Business Standard

Page 387 - Business Standard

Giving back prizes

Future disputes

Implicit guarantees

It's all in the name

What a reason!

A case in point

Letters: Revisit bank practices

Letters: A clarification on 'Over to Sebi'

Remittance scandal

We're positive on listing in India: Vittorio Colao

Lower prices fostering premium segment: Sanjiv Mehta

TCS stock slumps after earnings miss estimate

NSDC needs re-skilling

Headwinds for IT

Nothing works

Denied a meeting

Special arrangement

Letters: Congested airports

Letters: Questionable dissent

Poverty & its measurement