Beijing should focus on economy, not military assertion

China's priorities

Business Standard

Time to move on with power distribution reforms

Power paradox

With several state transport undertakings incurring huge losses, Nitin Gadkari, Union minister of road transport and highways, assured that a lithium-ion battery for buses developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) would be a game changer. Citing the example of Madhya Pradesh, he said the state transport undertaking was under so much financial strain that quite often the fare collected from passengers on a route was used for filling diesel. The situation was such that workers at filling stations in Maharastra shooed away buses from Madhya Pradesh. With the battery developed by Isro, existing buses could be converted to electricity-run vehicles, levelling the 'plying field'.

Levelling the plying field

The trend of marking attendance through biometric devices might no longer remain the exclusive preserve of government offices in New Delhi. In Jaipur, the Rajasthan government is planning to launch a pilot project to install biometric attendance machines at a handful of government-run schools. Not only teachers and other staff members, but also students of classes VI, VII and VIII would be asked to mark their attendance through these devices. If the experiment is successful, the state government might implement it on a larger scale. It plans to cover the state university and its affiliated colleges, but would restrict the use of biometric devices to teachers and other staff members.

No bunking

When Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad was bombarded with questions on call drops at The Economist's India Summit 2015, he squarely blamed mobile service operators for poor service. Citing the example of British telecom giant Vodafone Group, Prasad said that being a multinational corporation, it couldn't pretend it did not have the deep pockets needed to invest in improving service. Without mincing words, he advised operators to "close shop if you can't offer good service".

Service call

The editorial, "A good start" (September 10), makes some relevant points about the need to conduct government-industry meetings with expanded participation.Whenever there is an interaction with the government at the highest level at any forum, we see similar faces: Mukesh Ambani, Cyrus Mistry, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Gautam Adani. There are two big disadvantages to this. One, business and industry in a broader sense do not find themselves involved. Two, the same people give the same kind of advice almost every time. This closes the window for fresh ideas. Relatively smaller industrialists would be open to radical ideas.Looking at a photo of the meeting, it appears dominated by government functionaries. If it is necessary that a large entourage of government functionaries listens to deliberations on a real-time basis, let most of them sit in an adjoining room and view the event on a local area network. Let the available seats be filled by more industrialists and businessmen. Participat

Letters: More businessmen, please

With Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announcing the government's decision to prorogue the monsoon session of Parliament, the roll-out of the goods and services tax by April 2016 will not only be unrealistic but also administratively impossible given the uncertainty over the Constitutional amendment and the subsequent time-consuming legislative processes, both at the Centre and state levels.With the Congress, a formidable force in the Rajya Sabha, still remaining firm on its demand for ouster of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and some chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, apart from its GST-related demands, it can be assumed that the coming winter session too will be quite disruptive. Much will also depend on the Bihar Assembly election results.In the meantime, the government should circulate draft pieces of legislation among all stakeholders - including the Centre and state tax departments - responsible for administering the new tax regime for their inputs before these are sent t

Letters: Avoid shortcuts on GST

With reference to the article, "A bridge to the East" (September 8), suddenly there is heightened interest about the north-east, not out of sympathy for its neglected people, but because it lies between mainland India and the booming Asean region.The north-east should not be conceived merely as a landmass of strategic importance for India because it stands between the country and China or is adjacent the Asean nations with which India wants to build strong economic ties.The north-east is not only a landmass but also a people, albeit underdeveloped compared to the rest of India, who have their unique set of problems.Rail, road and air connectivity in the north-east is poor and in some places, there is no connectivity at all. There needs to be connectivity not because the north-east is strategically and economically important to India, but because its people need development and economic growth as it is also part of India.Anshuman Gogoi  GuwahatiLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed t

Letters: NE integral to India

Click of graphic

This fall in profitability is a consequence of several disparate forces

Corporate profitability might fall in coming decades: McKinsey

Low fuel price gives carriers time to reform

Aviation's moment

But govt-business dialogue should be institutionalised

A good start

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was part of a session on technology at The Economist's India Summit 2015, was asked by the moderator if he would field questions from the audience at the end of the session. Prasad promptly said he had attended a six-hour-long cabinet meeting in the morning and had to skip lunch to attend The Economist event. Without wasting time, the moderator said, "Let's order some sandwiches for the minister." Prasad, however, turned down the invitation to have lunch on the dais.

Prasad's hunger pangs

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has a knack for cracking jokes that enliven even the dullest of press conferences. During one such interaction with the media recently, called to announce the launch of paperless unreserved railway tickets, the technocrat-turned-politician said: "I am sure all the stakeholders are happy with the idea. The only people not happy would be the paper manufacturers." Every year, the Indian Railways consumes about 600 tonnes of paper for printing tickets and reservation charts.

Paper train

Ahead of the festive season, the fire service directorate in Patna has come up with a novel idea to educate city residents on fire safety measures. It has decided to invite them for morning tea and snacks. During the gathering, they would be apprised of ways to prevent fire from breaking out and measures to be taken in case it does. Why the tea and snacks? The logic is this: If you call people over for a meeting, they will simply pass it over. But when you invite them for tea, they feel obliged to accept the offer.

Tea, snacks and a lesson

With reference to the article, "Rise in mobile start-ups signals a bubble" (September 9), according to the report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for June 2015, of the total telecom subscriber base of more than a billion, 980.81 million are mobile phone subscribers. About 70 per cent of online transactions happen via mobile phones. Furthermore, with the government extending internet to rural areas, internet-enabled low-cost phones are selling briskly. This has led several companies to list their products or services on mobile platforms.Mobile commerce spending has already reached such a critical mass that retailers must address this new market dynamic, else lose competitive advantage. From personalisation and re-targeting to loyalty programmes and faster checkout processes, the opportunities for mobile technology are immense.In India, the mobile start-up concept is mushrooming compared to  economies like the US or China, where it is nearing saturation point. Hence, it is t

Letters: No bubble in India yet

With reference to the report, "Maha meat ban: BJP showing fascist behaviour, says Congress" (September 8), in a country like India with a democratic and secular set-up, the meat ban in Maharashtra is quite a disappointing move.The demand for the ban is illogical and will lead to similar demands from other communities. This is an attempt to polarise people on the lines of religious beliefs and thus project dominance.Fasts are observed by various communities, but never before has that been used to restrict the food preferences of those not observing the fast, let alone implement a ban.For example, in the month of Shravan, many people avoid non-vegetarian food, but the practice is not imposed on others who do want to eat non-vegetarian food, whether at home or in hotels.H Sawant   MumbaiLetters 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 ad

Letters: Disappointing move

Apropos the editorial, "Fiscal time bomb" (September 7), the rubber has been stretched to the maximum. If the past is any indicator, political expediency almost always gets the better of economic priorities. Almost all governments at the Centre have been responsible in some measure for the country's sorry state of affairs at present.Instead of wasting time moping over what should not have been done, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government, which came to power on the promise of development and clean politics, should strive to ensure greater fiscal discipline. This involves taking tough decisions in the larger interest of the country and not making long-term commitments. Subsidies should be done away with in a phased manner. The government cannot sustain itself without achieving the required level of revenues needed for the country's economic development and for implementing social welfare schemes.The time has come to pave the way for cautious and sustained

Letters: Shun populism

More than 2,760 migrants and refugees have died so far in attempts to reach Europe by boat, compared with 2,223 in the same period last year, according to latest data from the International Organization for Migration. Between January 1 and September 7 of this year, there were 3,788 deaths all over the world

The migrant crisis

Europe is under pressure, but what about other countries?

Refugees & responsibilities

Short of rain, again

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury on Monday presented an interesting mash-up of math and mythology before the electorate in Bihar, while urging them to reject Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the coming Assembly elections. Addressing a gathering of Left activists and leaders, he expressed confidence that the people of Bihar would stop Modi's "Ashwamedh horse". He added there was a triangle before the people of Bihar. The first corner was represented by the "communal" BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, with their "dushasan" (misrule) brand of politics. The alliance of the JD(U), RJD and Congress formed the "sinhasan" (throne) brand of politics and represented the second corner. In the third corner were the Left parties that offered an alternative to the "dushasan" and the "sinhasan" brand of politics, he said.

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