The editorial "Missed opportunities" (May 7) observes that the failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government to meet the expectations of corporates for quick reforms is the main cause of dampening investor optimism.If the expectations were to be of hurricane speed, part of the blame should not only go to Narendra Modi's election strategy, which promised the same, but also to the corporate world if they believed those rhetorics. Still, the government has done much more for easing business operations than for the common man in areas of corruption, employment and quality of life.Labour law reforms, despite opposition from trade unions, the placement of a pragmatic politician minister in charge of environment clearance, the Goods and Services Tax, enhancement of foreign investment and making Herculean efforts to modify the land acquisition system - all these have taken a lot of the government's energy to please business houses and dented its claims of being a pro-poor party.But our

Letters: Great expectations

Business Standard

Apropos the editorial "Missed opportunities" (May 7), a strong reaction from the market due to the snail's pace progress of the government's economic reforms was inevitable. At a time when the country is on the path of progress, the reverse flow of capital from the market will negatively impact the economy and market sentiments.The market had bestowed a lot of hope on the anticipated returns. However, the performance parameters of India Inc as of March 2015 have been disappointing.Agriculture and farming need the government's attention to prevent the growth of rural unemployment and the plight of the farmers from farming activities. The dismal rural economy needs more investment for infrastructural development. The funds being invested in job-guarantee schemes are becoming unproductive on account of the rising inefficiency in delivering matching results.V S K Pillai  KottayamLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargN

Letters: An inevitable reaction

The editorial "Competition to the end" (May 6), raises an interesting and pertinent point about Warren Buffett not investing in Indian companies. The over-staffing in Indian companies, especially public sector undertakings (PSUs) and the Indian Railways, not only raises direct costs but gives rise to inefficiencies, adding to the costs. Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger once made an interesting observation about the erstwhile Soviet Union: "They pretend to pay us, we pretend to work". This applies to many companies in India even today.I remember, in the early nineties, the share price of TISCO (now Tata Steel) was around Rs 700 and it was the highest cost producer of steel in the world. There was no foreign investment in the company. A decade later it became the lowest cost producer of steel in the world after restructuring and its share price was around Rs 250, and foreign investment started pouring in. India might be an attractive market to invest in for many reasons, but the singl

Letters: All staffed up

Top five PE deals this yearThe top five deals accounted for 46.4% of the total investment. The largest was Centerbridge Partners investing $1,157.5 million in Senvion for 100% stake from Suzlon, followed by Alibaba Group and SAIF Partners' investment of $635 million in One 97 Communications for 27.6% stake. The $400-million investment made by Tiger Global, Steadview Capital and others in Mumbai-based ANI Technologies for 13.42% stake was third largest

A Snapshot of PE activity & deals

Credit to Centre, states for Bangladesh border settlement

Statesmanlike decisions

Markets react to lower expectations from govt

Missed opportunities

Interview with Managing Director, Nivea India Pvt. Ltd.

Plan to be more accessible to the emerging middle class: Rakshit Hargave

Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president and operating head (sales and marketing) at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, is hopeful that the Modi magic would neutralise the ill effects of the "below normal" monsoon this season, as forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). When asked about the impact of the El Nino phenomenon - on which the IMD has pinned the blame for its low forecast - on two-wheeler sales, Guleria said he was hopeful that El Modi would have a far bigger - and hopefully positive - impact than El Nino.

El Nino vs El Modi

After actor Salman Khan was sentenced to five years in jail for drunken driving and killing a man sleeping on a Mumbai pavement in 2002, social media went into a frenzy with some outrageous posts from his friends and colleagues in Bollywood. A couple of our foot-in-the-mouth politicians also drew flak for their comments. Bharatiya Janata Party member Shaina N C stirred up controversy with her tweet: "Sad sad sad as we accept the honourable court's verdict, only hope and pray for least sentence", which she later deleted. She then posted: "Sad fr (sic) @BeingSalmanKhan and his family that has done remarkable charity. But the law proves that it is equal for all." Former MP Milind Deora of the Congress got flak for his comment, "India's judiciary may have spoken, but for those of us whose lives @BeingSalmanKhan has touched so deeply, his sentence is a major setback." He clarified later: "Empathising with a friend doesn't equal disrespecting the verdict or showing apathy for those who were

Friends in need

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley batted strongly for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Lok Sabha yesterday, reiterating that it would make India a single market. When the Opposition demanded a review of the changes made in the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government and that it be vetted by Parliament's standing committee on finance, he criticised the idea: "GST is not a dancing instrument that it will jump from standing committee to standing committee." The government's flagship reform measure cleared its first hurdle yesterday when the Lok Sabha passed the Bill.

Dance performance

This refers to the report "Former HP boss Carly Fiorina is running for US president" (May 6). The entry of a second woman candidate for the coming presidential elections in the US will certainly add colour to the race, as there are now two women candidates contesting for the post. As a former chief executive officer of a multinational computer firm, Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina's experience will stand her in good stead to lay a claim to steer the US in the global arena. The other candidate, Hillary Clinton, is mired in controversies such as using her private server for official communication, the Benghazi episode and foreign contribution to her family trust. If either of these two candidates succeed in winning the presidential race, the US will see its first-ever woman president.Of late, India's ties with the US - especially in the defence sector - have become stronger. When US President Barack Obama visited India recently, he watched Russian military hardware during the Republic Day parad

Letters: The race to White House

While the internal squabble in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) exposed the authoritarian in Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and saw the expulsion of two founder members - Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav - the allegations against Jitender Singh Tomar of possessing a fake degree, and a party volunteer's revelation about an illicit relationship with Kumar Vishwas show that AAP is far from becoming a party with a difference.As the volunteer's revelation sparked a controversy since she filed a police complaint that Vishwas later denied, it's for the leaders to take a stand and clear the air. The Delhi government under the leadership of Kejriwal has failed to fulfil even a single electoral promise. The party has started showing signs of weariness, courting controversies along the way and has lost track of working towards its promises.R Prabhu Raj  ChennaiLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargNew Delhi 110 002Fax: (01

Letters: AAP's struggles

This refers to Rathin Roy's column "The politics of growth projection"(Public Interest, May 5). The accuracy of a forecast is measured by a simple comparison of the ex ante forecast with the actuals ex post. But what is India's actual gross domestic product (GDP) in a given year that can be used to judge a forecast's accuracy? It is perhaps the official final estimate of GDP that emerges after several corrections. But a question arises regarding the accuracy of the official GDP figure, which itself is an estimate based presumably on an underlying operational methodology - which involves several approximations based on variables and subjective assessments.It would not be feasible to work out the GDP by individually aggregating the value of each item of goods and services. The official GDP figure, however, is an estimate the concerned authorities do not put in public domain. Besides, the absence of an independent auditor to check the authenticity and accuracy of various data and informat

Letters: Numbers game

Foreign institutional investor (FII) ownership in Indian companies fell 10 basis points during the March quarter. However, in value terms, FII ownership in Indian stocks increased from Rs 18.3 lakh crore in December 2014 to Rs 19.3 lakh crore, the highest since Prime Database started collecting the data. The total value of Indian-listed companies also reached highest-ever level during the March quarter. In terms of sectors, FIIs have highest exposure to banking stocks, followed by information technology.

Value of FII ownership on the rise

Behind Berkshire Hathaway's 50th anniversary

Competition to the end

Why is India still on the US' IPR watch list?

A backward step

An application to track user health in innovative ways was launched in Delhi last week, along with a communication campaign aimed at making Indians healthier. As many health experts and doctors were present at the event, the conversation naturally drifted towards the reasons that made Indians unhealthy. Largely, the solution lay in eating healthy, the experts agreed as they listed out some of the most unhealthy Indian foods. When the press conference got over, the conversation around food habits continued over lunch hosted by the health app provider that comprised a range of dishes - such as dal makhni - which would be an absolute no-no for health experts.

A healthy debate

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, wants the media to go for a session of 'vipassana', an ancient technique of meditation. Sisodia was responding to queries on Ashish Joshi, a former Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC) member. Joshi was appointed member-secretary of DDC, an advisory body to the Aam Aadmi Party government, but was asked to relinquish the position within days. Upon his removal, Joshi had observed that "there is an urgent requirement of 'vipassana' and 'anapana' (the first step of 'vipassana') practice/training by one and all in the Delhi government".

Alternative therapy is in vogue

Nitin Gadkari's frank admission at an event on sprinkle irrigation systems in Nagpur on Sunday that he stores his urine in 50-litre cans to water his plants might be backed by scientific logic, but that did not prevent the Twitterati from taking potshots at the minister. One tweet said, "Nitin Gadkari: Putting the P in plants", while another punned, "Don't say anything about Gadkari or else 'urine' trouble". Some wondered if he should be given an advisory role in the agriculture ministry as well.

Gardening tips

Apropos the editorial "Public trials?" (May 5), a call for a public trial of the media by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is not only outrageous to the core, but also betrays his own sense of paranoia and a growing frustration for his inability to manage the affairs of the party for reasons entirely attributable to him and his cronies. It is also ironical that he should now turn so hostile to the very media that catapulted him to his current level of power, prominence and authority from virtual obscurity before his joining the Anna Hazare-led movement against corruption.As rightly observed, it is not as if Kejriwal is left with no other option to seek remedy against the media for their "conspiracy" to "finish off" the party except for trying them by a kangaroo court. Such irresponsible and provocative behaviour by a sitting chief minister deserves the strongest condemnation. Instead of launching such a virulent attack on the media, Kejriwal must pause and introspect over his own c

Letters: Handling criticism

This refers to the editorial "Public trials?" (May 5). The activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal's careless statement claiming "public trials" against the media as a community and labelling them as "agents" of the Opposition is deeply condemnable. The deep-rooted anguish over the media because of large-scale negative reports against the Aam Aadmi Party shows Kejriwal's impatience and inefficiency in tackling criticism.In a democracy, the media is considered to be the "fourth pillar" and hence, any allegations against it weakens the foundation of our system. It shakes up the constitutional values and questions the integrity of the nation. Kejriwal must understand that he is holding a constitutional post, where one expects him to act in a manner that would glorify the image of the country, failing which he would demean the sanctity of the chief minister's designation.We must also note that a chunk of the media industry isn't clean and hence the holier-than-thou attitude must be fors

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