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

Letters: The CM's blame game

Business Standard

This refers to Debashis Basu's column "For a truly different regime" (Irrational Choice, May 4). The intensity and spread of any work undertaken by the government - either through its own human resources or a dependable work contract - depend more on "things to do", which invariably implies "things not to do". The philosophy of the PMs so far, as far as work execution is concerned, has little to do when exercising strict control over the same. There would hardly be any prime minister who would say that they don't want to defend the three key issues raised by the author. But the reality will always have an aberration, however strong the will of the PM might be.We have to keep in mind that our PM is the product of the same Indian society and he is aware of the facts and figures guiding the government and he is also conscious about the hard reality that unless he is at the helm of power for a reasonable time, it would be impossible to bring in any change in governance.It is okay to have "

Letters: Fixing evils, one at a time

Why Arvind Kejriwal should not threaten the media

Govt must persuade RBI on financial sector reform

About a rollback

It was a meeting between finance ministry officials and industry representatives to resolve issues relating to the new form to file income tax (IT) returns. An industry representative complained that under the new format, tax officials would seek details of an individual's foreign travels, which was not fair. Pat came the reply from a finance ministry official, "IT department details nahi maangega, to kya halwaai maangega?" (If not the IT department, who should ask for the details - a sweetmeat maker?) Another industry representative then asked why the assessee should furnish details that could be procured from, say, a tour operator. To this, a tax official retorted, "So, the IT department should roam around asking 'sources' rather than go to the person concerned, right? What sort of logic is this?"

A question of logic

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's frequent visits to Odisha have kicked off speculation that he was being positioned by the Bharatiya Janata Party as the state's chief ministerial candidate for the 2019 elections. While Pradhan was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha from the state of Bihar, he was earlier a member of the 14th Lok Sabha from Odisha. Now, there is no official word about it and Pradhan reportedly doesn't enjoy that sort of following in Odisha. But observers point to his closeness to party president Amit Shah to bolster their case.

Nothing official about it

Readers will remember that in the immediate aftermath of document leaks from the finance ministry, officials below the rank of 'director' were not allowed access to government websites. Apart from .nic.in and .gov.in domains, everything else was blocked for them (this ban did not cover joint secretaries and above). Now, the rules have been relaxed, but only just. While director-level officers and below can access non-government websites, they can only do so after their bosses give a go-ahead to the information technology support team. Moral of the story: don't access personal mail and social media; if you do, make sure you are in the boss's good books!

Time for net monitoring

This refers to Subir Gokarn's column "Rainfall and the economy" (Muddy Waters, May 4). Gokarn's analysis shows that the problem of monsoon-related rural distress can be managed by better targeted policy initiatives.Apart from the government, bankers have an important role to play if the financial affairs of farmers are to be stabilised on a long-term basis, so that they can face the periodic failure of monsoon on their own. In a way, the policy directive of 18 per cent agriculture credit for banks has led to over-financing of a large number of small and marginal farmers. Otherwise, how can one explain some banks giving crop loans on the value of land, instead of the crop production costs for a year?What rural economies need is an influx of long-term funds, say, through rural housing, which takes away the short-term liquid resources of farmers for long-term use. Loans for tractors, irrigation and so on also need to be separated as medium-term loans of, say, seven years with the same rat

Letters: Easy finance for farmers

This refers to T N Ninan's column "Unipolar no more" (Weekend Ruminations, May 2). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to accept the stark reality that the Opposition has all but succeeded in projecting the land acquisition Bill as anti-farmer. Any obduracy on the part of his government will only prove to be counter-productive. Modi must, therefore, hold his horses on this Bill for the time being. A strategic retreat is better than losing a bigger battle.When the going becomes good for the government, some elements in the Sangh Parivar seem to embarrass the government on the cue with their controversial statements and acts. As a result, the government is seen to be more in damage-control mode because of their foolish activities than in the mode for the implementation of its policies and programmes.For his own image and credibility, Modi must nip the impression in the bud that he has his own coterie and that he depends more on it than the collective leadership of the government and the par

Letters: Different from the UPA

This refers to the report "Statistics ministry rebuts RBI's doubts over new GDP series" (May 3). As the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has to base policy decisions on hard data, it is imperative that the central bank gets information that is credible. Fortunately, the RBI and the Central Statistical Office have experts who can sort out issues. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation needs to take the responsibility of ensuring that a system will be put in place, which will provide fresh figures to organisations such as the RBI whose policy perceptions have much to do with the resources mobilisation and the deployment of scarce resources, including finance.Meanwhile, the political leadership and social organisations should get involved in development initiatives at the grass-roots level, so that the non-availability of minimum livelihood conditions gets highlighted fast.M G Warrier  ThiruvananthapuramLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardN

Letters: Reliable data

It is no longer the case that foreign investors think the Indian stock exchanges are the only game in town. As Table 1 shows, while the Sensex has gained since the Modi government was voted in on May 16 last year, Russian and Chinese indices have gained more. And the Sensex has actually lost value in recent weeks. As Table 2 shows, net foreign institutional investment has been volatile over the past months, but is showing no signs of a secular decline.This may be one reason why some sectors and companies are much more in demand than others - they may be the ones foreign investors are staying interested in. As Table 3 shows, the price-earnings multiple of the Sensex companies has stayed relatively constant - and that of the mid-cap index has actually increased. But small-cap companies have seen a sharp decrease in price. Meanwhile, as Table 4 reveals, sectors like consumer durables and fast-moving consumer goods have continued to see high P-E multiples. Even within sectors, the differen

StatsGuru: Tracking market movements over the past year

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

Case study

Trawling for success

Business Standard brings you a snapshot of average current rates and unit sizes in localities that offer property in a price range of Rs 4-6 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

The legislative tangle

My car met with an accident when my driver was driving it. The cost of repairs is about Rs 15,000. Will it make a difference that my driver was driving and not me? Can my claim be rejected on this ground?It does not make a difference, as long as the driver has a valid licence to drive the class of vehicle as on the date of accident. Your claim would not be rejected on this ground.I purchased a family floater health insurance policy for Rs 10 lakh last year and had no claims in the last year. But when I renewed the policy the premium had increased by Rs 2,000. When I asked the company why the sum assured increased, I did not get a satisfactory answer. Since I did not want the policy to lapse, I renewed it. What could be the reasons for the increase in premium despite no claims?Generally, the premium of health insurance changes with change in age bracket. One of the probable reasons could be that the person based on whose age the premium was calculated has moved into the next age bracket

General Insurance: Rakesh Jain

So much for healthy political debate. On his birthday last week, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat cut a celebratory cake that was in the shape of the state of Uttarakhand. Wasting no time, the Opposition alleged that Rawat had not just cut a cake, it was actually a metaphor for his plans to bifurcate the state itself. Rawat retorted he would resign from chief ministership if the Opposition was able to prove there was, indeed, such a plan. In any case, he added, he didn't believe in cutting birthday cakes.

A cakewalk

As we remarked in Chinese Whispers before, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's "suit-boot ki sarkar" allusion has really raised the hackles of Bharatiya Janata Party bosses and they have not missed a chance to give it back to Gandhi. Replying to a debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  remarked the government of the day was a "soojh-boojh ki sarkar" (a wise government). Then, in reply to Gandhi's contention that the prime minister was often abroad, he said, "At least we know where the prime minister is. The PM's trips are a national duty. There is a difference between a national duty and disappearance for a jaunt."

Tit for tat

That the British are enamoured by their royalty is well known; so, the hype and excitement preceding the birth of Prince William and Kate Middleton's second child didn't come as much of a surprise. Apparently, British Prime Minister David Cameron is also hoping for a baby bounce in the coming May 7 general elections. But what really took the cake this weekend was a raging new debate in the media. Within minutes of the arrival of royal baby No 2 on May 2, speculation was rife whether after baby number two, will Kate have a third child?

Parenthood bells

One of the most debated aspects of the Companies Act, 2013, has been the introduction of a revised regime pertaining to related party transactions. To introduce transparency and fairness, the law has prescribed multiple prior approvals for specific categories of transactions with related parties. To align the equity listing agreement with the provisions of the new Act, the Securities & Exchange Board of India has also amended clauses 35B and 49 of the listing agreement.The apparent inconsistencies between the provisions pertaining to related-party transaction under the law and the listing agreement raise implementation issues for listed companies.ScopeThe primary difference between the company law and the listing agreement is the definition of 'related party' and 'related-party transaction'. These definitions are important to determine whether a particular transaction is required to comply with the approval requirements prescribed by regulatory regimes.Section 2(76) of the Companie

Related-party transactions: A case of regulatory dissonance?

Ola Kallenius

You need an attitude, a story. You have but two buttons to push - emotion and intelligence, heart and mind, says Ola KalleniusHas marketing changed fundamentally since the first golden age?It has become a more challenging game, but I would say that some of the basics are still the same. You need an attitude, a story. You have but two buttons to push - emotion and intelligence, heart and mind.This suggests that analytics alone won't supplant traditional storytelling.One thing I want to stress, because everyone tends to talk just about the digital side, is that in the world of modern luxury it's not all digital. It's human touch. That's equally important as digital - more important, in a way. Think about other luxury brands, like Hermes and Louis Vuitton. Look what they're doing: they're building flagship stores that are beautiful, where you actually like to just browse around before you buy. Those are emotional places. So let's not believe that, even for younger people, this side does n

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