With Bihar elections approaching, friends-turned-foes BJP and JD(U) are coming up with innovative ways to attack each other

Bihar MLA as Modi

Business Standard

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

Case study

Business Standard brings you a snapshot of average current rates and unit sizes in localities that offer property in a price range of Rs 50 lakh-1 crore. If you are looking at buying real estate and your budget falls within this range, an idea about prevailing rates would come in handy

Realty check

I started working two years ago. So far, I've invested only in Public Provident Fund and bank fixed deposits. I want to invest in mutual funds. Which funds should I invest in? We assume your larger requirement would be to build a portfolio for achieving long-term financial goals. This can be achieved by investing a credible portion of your investments into equities. If your objective is to derive the twin benefits of tax exemption under Section 80C of Income Tax Act, 1961, and growth from equities, you could invest in equity-linked saving scheme.In case of a moderate risk appetite, it is better to stick to the conservative end of the equity fund spectrum. Consequently, we recommend investing in equity income funds (equity allocation ranging from 20 per cent to 40 per cent) or balanced advantage funds (equity allocation ranging from 30 per cent o 80 per cent). These funds are structured to invest in equities when markets are cheap and book profits when markets are rising, thus minimisin

Mutual Fund: Nimesh Shah

With the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections due next year, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi has claimed that if elected to power he would enforce prohibition of alcohol in the state and govern according to the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and former Tamil Nadu chief minister C N Annadurai.Karunanidhi admitted recently that when C Rajagopalachari called on him one rainy day in 1971 to not lift prohibition in the state - Karunanidhi was the chief minister then - he had explained his inability to do so due to the state's depleted finances. He said that decision made him feel guilty now. Will the state's finances improve magically if Karunanidhi comes to power and implements a total ban on alcohol? If the veteran politician has any regard for Gandhi, he should not drag the latter's name into the matter.V Jayaraman, OregonLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargNew Delhi 110 002Fax: (011) 23720201  ·  E-mail

Letters: No magical solution

The Republican Party of India (RPI) (Athavale) might be an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party but takes independent decisions on issues relating to Dalit concerns

Equality vs harmony

The Lalit Modi-Sushma Swaraj episode is burning up precious legislative time

Letters: A wrong message

Apropos the report, "If helping Lalit Modi's wife was a crime, then I am guilty: Sushma Swaraj" (August 7)

Letters: Hold Swaraj liable

The Opposition Congress had spent the whole of the monsoon session of Parliament protesting against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government

Weather woes

Competitive bidding without delays can help

Power sector woes

Export numbers show 'Make in India' has little time to take off

Trade threats

Why an Indian Jon Stewart is a long way off

The US' trusted newsman

Rolls out fourth-generation (4G) data service across 296 cities

Bharti Airtel vs Reliance Jio: How the two stack up

The editorial, "Wise suspensions" (August 4), has brilliantly put to rest the ongoing debate on "no work, no pay" for MPs and MLAs by stating that the cost to the exchequer from a washed-out session would be dwarfed by the cost to the economy if the present logjam in Parliament continues.If the previous chairpersons of both the Houses of Parliament had taken steps within their powers to restore decorum on numerous such occasions, the  environment for deliberations and debates in Parliament would have been conducive at present. It is not too late for the Opposition, in particular the Congress, to quit the path of disruption leading to anrchy. Forty years is not a short period to learn lessons; or is the Congress trying to challenges the present government to commit a mistake to wash away its own sins?M G Warrier  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.

Letters: Make amends

India must update its trade negotiation strategies

A flawed response

First quarter results say full recovery still distant

A long haul

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav got a public dressing down earlier this week from none other than his father and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Yadav senior was speaking at an event and his son was sitting on the dais with some SP leaders. At one point, he turned to the Chief Minister and enquired about the help extended by the Centre to those affected by the flood in Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh, who was busy speaking with someone, failed to answer his father's question. Yadav senior then lost his cool and gave his son a piece of his mind.

Fathers and sons

Members of Parliament security staff were seen scratching their heads over a huge photo. The photograph, the size of a three-seater sofa in length, had been left unattended. It had a woman in a white saree with her back to the camera addressing a huge rally. The spires of a mosque were visible on the left of the picture. The security personnel were trying to guess the identity of the woman leader. One quipped that it could be former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the others seemed to agree until a posse of journalists, who had been listening to the conversation, pointed at the green border of the saree. Only West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee wore white sarees with narrow green, blue or grey border, they pointed out. The mystery was solved when it became apparent that the photo was meant for the new TMC office in Parliament.

Saree soiree

The Congress-led Opposition has lodged its protest and boycotted the Lok Sabha, so the House is bereft of disruptions. But that hasn't solved the government's woes. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union minister of state, skill development and entrepreneurship, and parliamentary affairs, was seen desperately seeking out MPs - he didn't even spare Left leader A Sampath - to cobble together a quorum to allow the House to function. As per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, at least 10 per cent of the total number of members of the House must be present to form the quorum needed to constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament.

Number games

With reference to the editorial, "Fixing farm credit" (August 5), at a time when the input cost of agriculture is rising, credit should be made available at affordable rates to farmers, irrespective of their landholdings. While the target for agriculture has been raised to Rs 8.50 lakh crore and the directive to lend to farmers at 13.5 per cent will offer them some relief, it seems the credit flow to the sector is not being utilised properly.The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana has led to a rise in the number of bank accounts. Consequently, several small and marginal farmers have become financially literate and are getting access to credit for cultivation.To ensure this trend continues, rural branches of banks have to be adequately staffed, and serve farmers with empathy. The government and banking regulators must ensure that enough institutional credit flows into the agriculture sector and eligible farmers get interest subvention.Despite the growing penetration of banks in the hinterlan

Letters: Be accessible

The editorial, "An opportunity lost" (August 5), criticises the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) stance on the third monetary policy. The low inflation rate of the past nine to 10 months is mainly due to lower import inflation rate on account of subdued crude and commodity prices, not domestic mitigating factors. A change in repo rate could have brought down the base rate of banks had it induced reduction in deposit rates, but that is not happening.After Raghuram Rajan took over as RBI Governor, the central bank raised the repo rate by 75 basis points in FY 2014, while  banks increased their base rate by 25-30 basis points. We are now seeing a reverse pattern: Since January 2015, the repo rate has gone down, followed by banks cutting their base rates.Base rate of banks mainly depend on the cost of longer-tenure funds (deposit), whereas repo rate is an overnight rate and its transmission is full at the shorter end of the yield curve. The RBI has indicated in the past that the ideal differe

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