Fifteen years since its inception, private and public sector players have taken efforts to promote growth and improve penetration

15 years of insurance industry after privatisation: The tech edge

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A function hosted by L K Advani to celebrate 50 years of marriage to his wife Kamla saw many senior ministers in attendance. Besides Ananth Kumar, MP from Karnataka, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh attended. The Opposition was represented by Praful Patel and Amar Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend, but sent his wishes. The high point of the evening was Mr and Mrs Advani exchanging varmala. The event was planned by their daughter Pratibha. The next day, Sonia Gandhi's office released a letter she wrote to felicitate Mr and Mrs Advani, adding that she had completed 47 years of marriage to Rajiv Gandhi, suggesting that Sonia romantically still regards herself as married to Rajiv, who was assassinated in 1991.

Happy anniversary

Old habits die hard, but bureaucratic habits die harder. As the corporate espionage saga began to unfold, it emerged that one of the allegedly leaked documents, for which some government officials were interrogated, was also on the website of a certain ministry. When one of the officials associated with that ministry was asked why the document, which was online and for the whole world to see, had the word "secret" written on top, he said that the word was inserted as a matter of habit and that it didn't occur to him that once online, it wouldn't remain a secret after all.

Open secret

This refers to M J Antony's column "The Cinderella of all Budgets" (Out of Court, February 25). If Budget provision as a percentage of the gross domestic product is taken as the yardstick for measuring government priority, the judiciary would rank among the lowest with a share of just 0.2 to 0.4 per cent. This has a telling effect on its performance. While the number of pending cases runs into millions, more than 25 per cent of posts lying vacant makes the situation alarming. Besides, an inadequate Budget makes judges' working conditions truly appalling. One may visit the lower courts in the talukas and districts to see rickety fans, old wooden benches and chairs, noise all around and dingy court rooms, where the judges have to pay a lot of attention to the goings-on to do justice to their job. The computerisation of data, which could have added to the efficiency, progresses at a snail's pace, if at all.Since our judiciary, by tradition and training, is wary of lobbying for its require

Letters: Judging the judiciary

It is common for all of us to visit the railway station. It is also mandatory for us to buy a platform ticket for Rs 5. The cost is not a burden, but buying the platform ticket is a time-taking process. Many times, the staff at the ticket counters refuse to issue a platform ticket for want of exact change. Also, the current time limit of two hours on platform tickets is a hurdle. What if a train is delayed by more than two hours? One would have to buy another platform ticket then.To overcome this hurdle, the railway authorities should issue a lifetime common platform ticket (CPT). This should be valid at all the railway stations, without a time limit. The CPT, which can be issued at a price of Rs 1,000, can be designed like our PAN card.At the time of issuing a CPT, the applicant should provide a valid photo ID. One advantage of the CPT is that the authorities can easily ascertain the details of the passengers in case of a mishap. A CPT could help the passengers, especially at busy sta

Letters: A common platform ticket

Shreekant Sambrani's article "Telling good subsidies from bad" (February 24) vividly explains the adverse impact of subsidies on various sectors. Subsidies are aptly compared to cholesterol - being bad for most parts, but good for some. There is a need to eliminate the unwanted and undeserved subsidies to ensure optimum utilisation of scarce resources and equitable distribution of essential commodities. The Directive Principles of State Policy decry the undue enrichment and it is the duty of the government to safeguard the interests of the people. The need of the hour is to chalk out a programme that figures out where, how, when and to whom the subsidies are issued. This should not be a vote-drawing gimmick. The author clearly explains the practice followed in other countries and suggests how subsidies should be extended and not be made a ritualD Sureshbabu  HyderabadLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargNew Delhi

Letters: The subsidies ritual

A look at the members of the 14th Finance Commission

Faces behind the 14th Finance Commission

Swine flu could be controlled with government action

Prevent an epidemic

Deregulate e-commerce, and see ancillary benefits

Free the clicks

As the swine flu outbreak in the country assumes alarming proportions, the discussion on the issue in the Rajya Sabha is increasingly taking on political hues. While the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's Tiruchi Siva demanded to know the state-wise break-up of swine flu cases and related deaths, the Congress' Pramod Tewari pointed out that the highest number of swine flu deaths had taken place in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. When Himachal Pradesh MP Viplove Thakur attempted to hit out at the government, Health Minister J P Nadda, who hails from the state, interjected, "At least our state is spared from this (swine flu)." Thakur quipped: "That is because of us (the Congress party, which is in power in that state)."

Fisticuffs over flu

The Trinamool Congress' (TMC) parliamentary party chief, Mukul Roy, doesn't find a place in a new committee the party has set up to chalk out House strategy. The members of the committee include Lok Sabha MPs Saugata Roy and Sultan Ahmed, and Rajya Sabha members Derek O'Brien and Sukhendu Roy. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee is among the special invitees to the panel. Many within the party said Mukul Roy's absence from the team wasn't a big surprise since he had been stripped of many of his responsibilities and that while he retained his position as the leader of TMC in the Rajya Sabha, he was not being invited to any of its meetings. Interestingly, Mukul Roy was conspicuous by his absence from the protest by Trinamool MPs against the land ordinance.

Missing in action

The Chinese embassy in India had sent out an invitation to journalists, among others, to be part of the Chinese New Year reception to be held at the embassy on March 3. What left journalists scratching their heads was a follow-up e-mail by the press attache to the Chinese embassy in India that said: "If you have received it (an invitation for the reception) from my colleague, please forget about it". The e-mail then goes on to say the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to India requests the pleasure of the company of... Journalists are wondering if the reception stands cancelled, or does it simply mean that they are invited anyway and should disregard the second invitation if they've got the first one already.

To attend or not to attend

This refers to the book review "How cash transfers can work" (February 24). The jury is still out on the efficacy of cash transfers in lieu of the subsidised physical products to various beneficiaries. Yet, the governments find it clean, as otherwise they have to soil their hands with full logistic chains, as the 'leaky' public distribution system (PDS) has shown. The concept of cash transfer as basic income, as advocated in the book, appears promising in view of the freedom it gives to the recipients in using the money. However, its universalisation as an 'anchor' social security may make it less attractive to a government that is searching for ways to reduce the total subsidy burden.One wonders what will happen when the country shifts to cash transfers in, say, PDS distribution and food article prices shoot up. The government may dilly-dally in raising the amount of cash subsidy proportionately, quoting a high fiscal deficit. However, if a poor person was getting a few kilos of wheat

Letters: Cash transfer conundrum

This refers to Surinder Sud's column "Waiting for the PM's word on GM" (Farm View, February 24). Why doesn't Prime Minister Narendra Modi respond to the internationally renowned scientists? This type of unease in New Delhi does not reflect a good image of the Modi sarkar.There is some kind of tug of war going on within the ruling party. We already know that research trials on genetically-modified (GM) crops have started taking place in various locations, including Gujarat and Maharashtra, with approvals from the central and state governments. So what is preventing Modi from publicly supporting the transfer of that technology to the hard-working peasantry?It is difficult to break Modi's silence even on his Twitter dialogue, which is mostly one way. He is neither having dialogues with his opponents nor the media.Chandrashekhar 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) 2372

Letters: Modi's silence on GM

This refers to the recent remarks by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat about the Nobel Peace Prize awardee Mother Teresa. While the controversial remark was needlessly made, the fact that the Indian National Congress (INC) raised it in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour is equally disturbing. Since Bhagwat is not an office bearer of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the government cannot be made liable to answer over the remarks. The INC should raise other issues of more importance.K B Dessai  MargaoLetters 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: A needless controversy

Apropos the report "Rahul's 'introspection' leave stirs party anger" (February 24), one wonders why everyone is taken aback by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's move to go on a sabbatical. Is it not routine to go on a vacation or take a long break when one is stressed out or wants to be with friends and family?Thrust into the limelight at an early age, Gandhi is certainly feeling the burden on his young shoulders. The rout of the Grand Old Party in the Lok Sabha elections and the party faring poorly in the recent Assembly elections, besides drawing a blank in Delhi, have also taken its toll. One hopes that the break will do Gandhi a world of good.N J Ravi Chander  BengaluruLetters 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: Rahul's sabbatical

TAX DEVOLUTION TO BE BASED ON AREA, POPULATION, DEMOGRAPHY, INCOME DISTANCE & FOREST COVERHighest weight of 50 per cent  is given  to distance from the highest per capita income  district, followed by population (1971 census) at 17.5 per cent,  demography (2011 census) at 10 per cent, area at 15 per cent and forest cover at 7.5 per centCENTRE'S FISCAL  AND REVENUE DEFICITSFiscal deficit should come down to 3.6 per cent of GDP in 2015-16 from projected 4.1 per cent in 2014-15 and then 3 per cent in following year and kept  at that for  three more years. Not different from existing roadmap, though the present time  frame  ends in 2016-17. Wants revenue deficit to come down from 2.9 per cent in FY15 to 2.56 per cent  in FY16  and then progressively reduce to 0.93 per cent by 2019-20STATES' FISCAL AND REVENUE DEFICITSFiscal deficit should be at 2.76  per cent in FY16, to come down to 2.74 per cent by FY20 though it would increase in between. To be revenue surplus in all these yearsCENT

14th Finance Commission: Recommendations

The Fourteenth Finance Commission report is quite path-breaking in many more ways than the very sharp increase that it has recommended for the states' share of the divisible poor from 32 per cent to 42 per cent. Each of the previous finance commissions have recommended small increases (about two percentage points) in the tax share for states, so this is a major departure. The more notable feature of the Commission is the logic that convinced it to take this path. The Commission, starting from its first principles, has sought guidance from the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution which defines what subject areas are reserved for the Union, what for the state and what are in the Concurrent List. The just and efficacious sharing of financial resources should provide adequate resources to the Union and the States to carry out their constitutionally assigned tasks. It found that the Union was far from being stingy with fiscal transfers to the states.Far from it, the case was actually the ot

Redefining the spaces between the Centre and the states: Saumitra Chaudhuri

A new plan for gas

For states, more power and responsibility

Accelerating devolution

Last year, a certain airline received a severe reprimand from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation and saw two of its pilots getting suspended after a video of its crew's mid-air Holi dance routine went viral. But that hasn't deterred the airline - which went into a tailspin over mounting losses since then and saw its ownership being transferred - from planning for the festival again this year. With the festival coming up next month, some crew members have started practising their dance moves, though the word is that they will not dance on board to avoid the regulator's ire.

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