Bhupesh Bhandari's column "Dilip Shanghvi's X factor" (White Knight, March 13) is quite impressive and inspiring. A small piece of biography must become readable, especially to those students and parents who are keen on getting admissions in business schools with a target to get handsome packages in some business house. Getting admissions into colleges and business schools for a degree is not affordable to everyone. These schools, however, will never teach one subject - confidence. I am still amazed at how a person with minimum qualifications and from a commerce stream, controls and offers employment to pharmacy experts and moreover, controls a major share in the pharmaceutical industry.Mayur Y Parekh,  VadodaraLetters 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@bsmail.inAll letters must have a postal address and telephone number

Letters: Learning confidence

Business Standard

This refers to the article "Sugar shock" (BS Weekend, March 14). One solution for this malaise is more domestic consumption of raw sugar. Mills ask for export subsidies on raw sugar exports. Due to the lack of awareness, raw sugar is not consumed by more people, even though it is rich in natural iron, calcium and other nutrients. The sugar industry and the government should create more awareness on the health benefits of raw sugar. The industry should not link the production of raw sugar with export orders. There is an untapped domestic market for sugar.The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) should launch an awareness campaign about the health benefits of raw sugar, on the lines of amla (gooseberry). Some sugar mills sell branded raw sugar - commonly known as golden sugar - and it is available in a few big supermarkets, not the usual mom-and-pop stores. If raw sugar is consumed instead of white sugar, ills such as the arrears of sugar mi

Letters: Raw sugar facts

This refers to the editorial "Speed is key" (March 13). Setting aside the closure report presented to it, a special Central Bureau of Investigation court sending summons to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coal block allocation scam raises hope. It vindicates the long-held allegation against Singh. It also validates former Coal Secretary P C Parakh's view that Singh is as culpable since he held the portfolio at that time and was the one who gave the final nod to coal block allocations.The summon points to the premise of the Constitution that everybody is equal before law. Coming close on the heels of its worst debacle in the general and Assembly elections, which cost the Congress its status as the national Opposition party, it is a dark day for the Grand Old Party and a sad day for a man who accidentally joined politics and was assigned the top post thanks to his integrity and clean public persona. Singh might not have imagined that he was destined to be summoned to appear b

Letters: Dark day for the Congress

Two days after cruising through the confidence vote, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is faced with a strange predicament. Lalu Prasad Yadav, chief of its ally, Rashtriya Janata Dal, was found praising Kumar's one-time protege-turned-foe Jitan Ram Manjhi. Lalu said: "Manjhi is a good man, with wisdom. I have also supported him in the past." Interestingly, Lalu praised Manjhi the same day the latter launched a bitter attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for bringing about his government's downfall, saying he could have mobilised the required number of MLAs had the BJP extended support in advance.

Enemies and friends

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board is beset with complaints regarding - you guessed it - cases of pollution in the burgeoning city of Bengaluru. The largest number of complaints to the board pertains to noise pollution and, guess what, stray dogs. The staff at the board have coined a term for the second one - 'dog pollution'. These complaints relate to the stray dog problem in the city that is fast assuming menacing proportions.

Dog pollution?

Former Union minister and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal appeared in the Sahara case for the first time on Friday. At one point, when the judges asked Sahara to share the details of a proposed deal to raise Rs 10,000-crore bail money with the Securities and Exchange Board of India and amicus curiae in writing, Sibal expressed concern that these details were confidential and could be deal-breakers if they found their way into the media prematurely. When it was suggested that Sahara should share the details on telephone, judge A K Sikri intervened and said: "(If it is confidential) don't say it on telephone." Those present in the courtroom burst into laughter.

Privacy concerns

What lies behind the design and price of the Apple Watch

Apple makes a market

Necessary steps to prepare Trade and Industry and department for smooth transition to GST System

Karnataka Budget Highlights

Questions arising from the CBI court summons

Speed is key

RBI should do more to prevent rupee appreciation

Not enough on rupee

This refers to Arvind Panagariya's article "Win-win on land" (March 10). The land acquisition Bill and its amendments authorise the government to acquire land for infrastructure construction and industrial corridors. This is an important step for the growth of infrastructure, which will come in the following years. However, in the middle of this process, the real estate sector could see a lot of unwarranted profits, as the land is going to switch hands many times and consequently, its price will rise. The increased price would ultimately increase the cost of the project, which would create a 'lose-lose' situation for both the parties (the one losing the land and the one that finally uses it). Farmers will regret losing their land, whose value would have appreciated. The real winner would be the real estate sector - which is not a desired consequence. So, these unwarranted profits also need to be addressed to fulfil the real objectives of the Bill.Ayush Jain,  AmbalaLetters can be maile

Letters: The ultimate cost

This refers to the report "Coal scam: Manmohan Singh, K M Birla named accused" (March 12). Manmohan Singh is a widely known figure for the past 50 years, ever since he moved from academics to the government. The one thing for which he has been known all these decades, more than anything else (his abilities apart), is his integrity and sparkling honesty.Those who have watched him from close quarters at one time or another in these decades would testify for the simplicity of his life and frugality of his personal needs. His well-known virtues should stand him in good stead in his hour of crisis. More particularly, he should ask the Congress party, his association with which has brought him to this pass, to keep its hands off him. For his legal defence, too, he is advised to engage suitable professionals and eschew politically motivated partymen, even if they are eminent lawyers.R C Mody,  New DelhiLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bah

Letters: In defence of Singh

It is indeed an irony that a man of Manmohan Singh's unimpeachable integrity has been summoned by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court as one of the "accused" for the alleged commission of offences involving the allotment of certain coal blocks to a company owned by Kumar Mangalam Birla. The court, in its judgment, has reportedly even invoked a charge of criminal conspiracy by a public servant, not pressed by the public prosecutor, which if proved, will send Singh behind bars for the rest of his life. While it can't be argued that by virtue of his being a former prime minister, the law of the land should not apply to him, one wonders whether mere reconsideration of someone's representation for the allotment of coal blocks for industrial use and pursuing the matter for expeditious decision, would by itself constitute a criminal offence of the nature slapped on Singh and others, including the then coal secretary.If the policy and the procedure laid down then were followed dili

Letters: Coalgate: A long litigation

Looking at the amount of media coverage that the oil sector and the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas get, one would assume there is little more they could ask for. Maybe, the ministry finds that not enough is being said about its pet projects. So, it has decided to take matters into its own hands and publish a monthly newsletter, which is being disseminated by the Press Information Bureau and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. The first newsletter starts with a note from Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan saying that it is an attempt "to communicate with fellow countrymen on major initiatives and policy decisions" of his ministry. Predictably, the first news item relates to Pahal, or the direct benefits transfer for LPG.

News and newsletter

Dravidian parties have had a history of worshipping idols of their party leaders. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MPs routinely invoke the name of J Jayalalithaa when they speak in Parliament. Party leader in Rajya Sabha, A Navaneethakrishnan, went a step further when he reverentially placed a small photograph of Jayalalithaa on the table right in front of his seat.However, Navaneethakrishnan's hero-worshipping was cut short after an attendant was deployed to request him to remove the photograph.

Who moved my hero?

Speaking in Hindi has always been a challenge for P J Kurien, deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, but that doesn't mean he has stopped trying. In fact, he is among the most enthusiastic supporters of non-Hindi speaking members who address the House in Hindi. So, when Communist Party of India (Marxist) member T N Seema, while raising the issue of low conviction rates in rape cases, urged members to bear with her because she didn't speak Hindi fluently, some MPs present suggested that Kurien give her an endorsement of some sort. Smiling feebly, Kurien said, "You would have to give the certificate. Since I don't know Hindi very well myself, how can I do the honours?" He was speaking in English.

Language of unity

World's second-largest economy may be in a deflationary cycle

China's demand problem

No room for surreptitious, illogical regulatory changes

Form and substance

The Shiv Sena has attacked Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed over the release of separatist leader Masarat Alam, saying that he was a "godfather" to the separatists. An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana said: "The separatists in Kashmir have got a godfather in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who has increased their strength." In a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, a coalition partner in the Sayeed-led government in Jammu & Kashmir, the Sena said, "Do anything you want, but do not get India into trouble. Do not be a part of this crime against the country."

Sena up in arms

Much has been written about how the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre is particularly conscious of its image and how it works hard to give out the right signals to the media. A move is afoot in some ministries and departments, say insiders, to designate only senior officials to talk to the media. That would be over and above the Press Information Bureau (PIB), which is the government's official arm to disseminate information. The move is aimed at preventing journalists from approaching secretaries and ministries directly for information.

Information channel

All's fair in warfare. The Karnataka Congress has accused the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) of unleashing black magic on the party and its members. The facts are: JD(S) had been occupying the old Congress office in Bengaluru for years but after a legal battle, its chief, H D Deve Gowda, was asked to vacate the office. Thereafter, local Congress workers claimed that when the JD(S) moved out, they found bangles, lemons and bottles strewn all around. As things stand, the party has decided to perform a puja to allay fears of workers. Meanwhile, Deve Gowda has been quoted in the media saying: "Congress must understand people like me have seen ups and downs. I won't stoop to such levels."

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