Hu Jintao

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU

RAJIV GANDHI

ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE

Almost a week before completing a year in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is embarking upon a trip to China. This will be his first visit to that country as PM. This three-day trip is part of a six-day tour to China, Mongolia and South Korea. India has made it clear the visit is aimed at augmenting Chinese investments. Business Standard takes a look at visits by Indian and Chinese premiers to each other's countries

Modi's China visit: A historical perspective

Business Standard

It has been widely noted in the past weeks that the rupee has declined against the dollar than many other currencies - as shown in Table 1. Indeed, as Table 2 shows, since the National Democratic Alliance was elected a year ago, the rupee has depreciated noticeably. As Table 3 shows, this decline is not as sharp as in 2013 but is no less noticeable.However, the truth could be that the rupee continues to be overvalued and should decline further. That, at least, is the lesson of real effective exchange rate analysis, as shown in Table 4 - suggesting the rupee has been overvalued for the past year and the excess has steadily increased. Part of that might be the capital account - a steady positive inflow of dollars, as shown in Table 5, though that has visibly crashed of late.The problem with the rupee's overvaluation is visible in Table 6: Export growth has been anaemic and declining in recent months.Fortunately , the current account deficit, shown in Table 7, is not a problem at the mome

StatsGuru: Tracking the rupee's movement and what it means

Cyber-crime explosion

Policy headroom

O Panneerselvam is not Jitan Ram Manjhi. As finance minister in J Jayalalithaa's Cabinet, Panneerselvam broke into tears when he took oath as chief minister of Tamil Nadu in September 2014, a day after Jayalalithaa was found guilty in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case. Now, when she is ready to make a comeback with an order of acquittal from the Karnataka High Court, he was seen beaming widely even as he is expected to resign from the post of chief minister soon. Interestingly, 2014 was not the first time when Panneerselvam was required to head the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu. He was appointed Tamil Nadu chief minister in 2001, when Jayalalithaa had to go to jail in a corruption case.

Back to square one

Ending months of speculation, e-commerce giant Myntra made a big announcement last Saturday that it would operate only as an app starting May 15. The company sent out an e-mail notification to that effect to its customers, which came as a surprise to many for more than one reason. Such was the excitement to announce the big move that the fashion retailer addressed its customers with the default word "NULL". Next day, the company sent an apology that said, "There was a technical glitch in our last e-mail to you that addressed you as 'null'. We do most sincerely apologise for this! We look forward to know you better in the coming months."

Null and void

The humble khadi cap, popularly known as the Gandhi cap, which made a comeback with the India Against Corruption movement of 2011-12, has now become almost de rigueur in mass agitation relating to 'issues' real or imaginary. So, when last week one came across a queue of buses lined up on a busy Delhi road with a bunch of people milling around them wearing white kurtas and yellow Gandhi caps, one began to wonder if it was another political assembly. As it turned out, it was a social gathering of some like-minded people.

Putting a cap on it

This refers to the editorial "The cost of safety nets" (May 11). Despite making huge efforts, there is still a danger that the banking system might serve only the accessible urban and surrounding pockets, while those in far-flung areas might remain devoid of the benefits of these safety nets.Apart from Narendra Modi's public commitment in Kolkata to open more bank branches in West Bengal in particular and eastern India in general, the government needs to identify the causes that have hindered the banking sector's growth over the last 60 years in these areas. One reason can be that in the low economic activity villages, full-fledged bank branches might be unviable and need huge subsidisation along with basic infrastructure, which is generally poor. Bandhan Bank might hopefully fill this gap to some extent. The government's withdrawal of capital subsidy in around 62 terror-affected districts for setting up of ultra-small branches could further slow down bank expansion in the most needy a

Letters: Better banking

This refers to the report "Jayalalithaa likely to return as Tamil Nadu chief minister on May 17" (May 12). There is no doubt that in the days to come, Jayalalithaa's acquittal by the Karnataka High Court would be discussed threadbare by politicians and legal pundits alike. However, the acquittal would be whole-heartedly welcomed by the common man in Tamil Nadu, irrespective of its merits and the final verdict that might be pronounced by the Supreme Court, if the case goes up before it.That is because ever since Jayalalithaa stepped down as chief minister (following her conviction in September 2014 by a trial court in Karnataka), one has been witnessing a total lack of governance in the state. Not only was the economy showing no signs of growth or impetus, even the existing industries were struggling with problems such as power shortage. Even the Amma welfare schemes launched earlier were being implemented in a half-hearted manner. Against this backdrop, one hopes that the state returns

Letters: Amma's acquittal

The much-awaited verdict is out and J Jayalalithaa, the unseated chief minister of Tamil Nadu following her conviction in a disproportionate assets case, has been acquitted of all the charges laid against her by the Kartnataka High court. Jayalalithaa - along with her supporters - has all the reasons to celebrate a crucial legal victory, paving the way for her return to power.However, the case raises certain significant questions about whether the principles of natural justice were denied to the prosecution by the Supreme Court's direction to submit only a brief written argument within two to three days of the apex court holding the appointment of an earlier prosecutor as illegal. The apex court probably, in its anxiety to ensure the speedy disposal of her appeal, gave such a direction setting a precedence whose legality will continue to be debated among jurists. For more than one reason, a final verdict on her acquittal by the Supreme Court is called for. The onus now lies on the stat

Letters: A case in point

Higher minimum support prices will not fix rural distress

Realism about prices

PM's trip to China must be conciliatory but cautious

Dealing with Beijing

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) followers celebrated the acquittal of party chief J Jayalalithaa in a variety of ways. Some shaved their heads, some their moustache and some others went dancing on the streets. AIADMK.com, the official website of the party, did its own bit. It splashed the home page with a huge banner with Jayalalithaa's photograph taking centre stage and digital fireworks flashing all across. "Amma is Back", roared the banner headline, accompanied by a Tamil slogan quoting poet Bharathiar. It said: "Dharmathin vazhavuthanai soothu kavvum, aanal meendum dharmame vellum", meaning Dharma may be temporarily overwhelmed by cunning but in the end, it will win.

'Amma is back'

Seems like Kiran Bedi has had enough of politics. In Panaji to participate in the Women Economic Forum, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s chief ministerial candidate for the 2014 Delhi Assembly elections said that she would not contest elections again. While she wasn't inclined towards "active politics", she said she was inclined towards "active public service". Bedi, who lost from the Krishna Nagar constituency, long held by party veteran Harsh Vardhan, described her experience during the Delhi elections as the "finest experience of her life" and thanked the BJP for reposing trust in her.

No to politics, yes to public service

During his visit to Raipur last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the International Institute of Information Technology built by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative. Somehow, the invitation and the commemorative plaque at the site failed to mention NTPC, which spent Rs 150 crore on the project. NTPC officials were at their wits' end, as the state authorities were in no mood to make any correction. However, the storm that lashed the region on Friday evening brought the podium built for the PM's programme crashing down, forcing the organisers to call off the programme.

Stormy relief

This refers to T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan's column "'Give me now leave to leave thee'" (Text & Context, May 10). I don't think that a decisive prime minister can be helpless or let down by his ministers and advisors, provided he keeps his ears to the ground and does not work with his nose in the air.By nature, Indian people are accommodating and passive as long as they are neither considered foolish. They can tolerate their leaders' inefficiency, failures and even callousness to some extent but not their arrogance. Unfortunately, Narendra Modi could not slough off these attributes of his personality. People might be angry with his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, for not being assertive in the United Progressive Alliance government. But they do not hate him because of his low profile and humility.Undoubtedly, Modi interacts more with the public directly than his counterpart in the previous government. But still, people feel more talked at than talked to.From day one, Smriti Irani was not

Letters: All the PM's men

Apropos the report "In Naxal hotbed, PM initiates projects worth Rs 25,000 crore" (May 9), it was very enterprising of the prime minister to go to Maoist-affected Chhattisgarh and speak so eloquently about exchanging violence for development. It is, however, equally disappointing that we continue to suffer from the misconception that a few mega projects and their trickle-down effect will do the miracle. Even if one overlooks the environmental costs, the announced projects, except may be the railway line, will do nothing for most of the population in any significant, direct and immediate way. The Rs 18,000-crore steel project could take five to six years to come up and might generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. Chhattisgarh is Maoist afflicted not because it lacks a steel plant or an iron ore slurry pipeline. It lacks water for irrigation and daily use, agricultural development schemes, schools, medical facilities and medium-sized units that require far less capital per new job.No

Letters: The real problems

This refers to the report "In Naxal hotbed, PM initiates projects worth Rs 25,000 crore" (May 9). I am pained to read that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who claims to believe in Swami Vivekanada and Ramakrishna Paramhansa, doesn't feel the pain of the tribals-cum-Naxalites in the Dantewada area. The tribals do not want their forest wealth to be exploited for either a steel plant or for generating electricity. Modi should meet activists and discuss issues related to the exploitation of the forest zones in India.If he would like to be remembered like Mahatma Gandhi, he has to go beyond the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's boundaries and approach the real leaders of the Naxalite movement in India.Chandrashekhar G Ranade Washington DCLetters 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 the ground

CRISIL analysed the performance of 1,394 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that were rated on the basis of their 2013-14 (financial year April 1 to March 31) financials. The study revealed that while loans from banks/financial institutions account for 77 per cent of the total loans availed by these companies, unsecured loans from the promoters and their family members account for the remaining 23 per cent.Currently, a majority of private limited or unlisted companies accept unsecured loans from promoters and their family members. The Companies Act, 2013, stipulates that all such deposits or unsecured loans accepted till date will need to be repaid, and the impact must be reflected in the company's financials. Also, under the same Act, a company can accept such loans provided that the amount has not been in turn borrowed by the promoters or their family members from some other source.This provision is likely to impact companies that already have accepted such deposits/loans.

MSMEs will have to change their funding profile

Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a three-nation tour of China, Mongolia and South Korea on Thursday

Will MAT queer PM Modi's pitch during foreign visit?

Uniken's digital connectivity and access platform, REL-ID, enables growth of digital connections, securely

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