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Revamp appointments system for central universities

Politicisation rot

Risky to stray from deficit target in Budget

Keep to fiscal path

In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party chief and now Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal apologised profusely before the people of Delhi. On several occasions he said that he was "sorry" for the "mistake" of quitting abruptly as chief minister in 2014. Before being called to form the new government in Bihar, Nitish Kumar also went into overdrive, seeking forgiveness of the people of Bihar "for mistakes I may have committed", and promised, just like Kejriwal, that "I shall not repeat them". Both are now firmly back in the saddle; only Kumar's government will have to prove its majority in the Bihar Assembly by March 16.

The power of sorry

Last September, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had asked all departmental canteens, that is, canteens of ministries and government departments, to carry out routine cleanliness drives as part of the Prime Minister's Swachh Bharat, or Clean India, campaign. They were supposed to undertake cleanliness drives at least once a month and furnish a report. Another circular, dated February 13, pointed out that only a few departments had furnished reports. Now, the DoPT has specified that a cleanliness campaign should be undertaken on the 15th of every month. It has also asked resident welfare associations in areas where central government employees reside to frame "annual action plans" and appraise the DoPT about their achievements on this front when applying for grants in aid.

Cleaning up the act

After being a mute spectator while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) appropriated its catch phrase "aam aadmi" as well as its core votebank, the Congress is trying to make sure it doesn't hand over one of its core "issues", the dilution of the Land Acquisition Act, to a usurper. So, after activist Anna Hazare beat the party to announcing a dharna on the land ordinance at Jantar Mantar on February 23, the Congress quickly announced that Rahul Gandhi - who it believes is the real champion of farmers' issues, having soiled his hands in Bhatta-Parsaul in 2011 - too would join Congressmen in a dharna at Jantar Mantar on the same issue, but on February 25. When a Congress spokesperson was asked whether Gandhi would be joining Anna in his protest, he brushed aside the suggestion saying, "Anna can join our dharna if he wants to."

Capturing lost ground

The resignation of Jitan Ram Manjhi as Bihar chief minister is the inevitable consequence of lack of numbers in his side. The JD(U) flock solidly stood behind Nitish Kumar. Now Kumar is all set to take over as the chief minister. The return of Nitish Kumar as CM amply demonstrates that his authority in the party has remained unchallenged. As such nobody has any voice to stake a claim for the post of CM. Even the voice of the party chief, Sharad Yadav, has been muted. He has hardly any say in the party. All that Yadav does is play back what Nitish Kumar says.By submitting his resignation ahead of the floor test, Manjhi has also betrayed the BJP, which had decided to back him. Now Manjhi stands nowhere, neither in the JD(U) nor the BJP. He will be an unattached member of the House until the next election. Even after elections are announced in Bihar, he cannot go back to the JD(U), because his position will be untenable and awkward. His only place is in the BJP. He does not seem to have a

Letters: High drama in Bihar

With the shocking news of some alleged espionage activities getting unearthed in the offices of the Central government, a natural question that arises is: How deep-rooted is this morass, and how long has this sordid state of affairs been going on? It is certain that this rot is not a recent phenomenon that could have set in only after the assumption of power by the BJP-led NDA government in New Delhi. It must have taken quite some time for the unscrupulous elements to gain access to the top secret files in the South and North Blocks. The investigating agencies should see to it that no entity, whether corporate or individual, is spared, its status in society notwithstanding.Arun Malankar  MumbaiLetters 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: Deep-rooted morass

This refers to 'Is big always best?' by Probir Roy and Sumita Kale (February 20). Payment banks will be of different hues and colours based on the pedigree of the main player involved, like telcos, BCs, NBFCs, prepaid instrument issuers, and the post office. Their migration to true banking entities will be closely watched for some time. The Reserve Bank of India is likely to pick bigger players for a licence, as its first priority will be the success of the new model. If the low level of freedom given by RBI to Indian Banks Association is any indication, allowing industry associations to set standards for payment infrastructure is difficult to anticipate.Direct benefit transfers (DBT) are also likely to remain a preserve of public sector banks (PSB) in view of the stinginess of government departments and owing to the latter's inclination to keep a hold on related account balances. Only PSBs under the protection of RBI under its Lead Bank Scheme/State Level Bankers Committees can face t

Letters: Bigger may be better

One billion: That's how many IoT (Internet of Things) devices will be shipped globally in 2015, according to Deloitte's 2015 TMT Predictions. The study predicts by 2015 one billion wireless IoT devices will be shipped, up 60 per cent from 2014, and leading to an installed base of 2.8 billion devices.The IoT-specific hardware (which could be a more expensive cellular modem, or a much cheaper Wi-Fi chip) is likely to be worth $10 billion, and the associated services enabled by the devices worth about $70 billion. Services include all of the data plans that may be necessary to connect a device over a network, the professional services (consulting or analysing the data) and then things like an insurance policy discount for a telematics device in a car or a wearable device for health purposes.IoT hardware and connectivity revenues are growing at about 10-20 per cent annually, while the apps, analytics and services are growing even more rapidly at 40-50 per cent.Evens as a lot has been writt

Enterprises, not consumers, driving IoT

Concerns over vehicle quality have risen following several high-profile product recalls, with more and more customers now seeking vehicles with longer lifespans, according to  KPMG's Global Automotive Executive Survey 2015. The survey says OEMs have to maintain a careful balance between product quality and cost optimisation.Auto executives believe that consumers are still fixated on traditional product issues like fuel efficiency, safety and comfort. One factor that has leapt in importance is enhanced vehicle lifespan, which was ranked just eighth in 2013, but is now the second most important factor influencing the buying decision. In fact, fuel efficiency remains customers' key priority, which is in line with their expectation that sales for small and basic models will be particularly strong.Although car ownership is predicted to remain high across all age groups, mobility services such as car sharing are expected to see profitable growth within the next decade. The use of alternative

Enhanced vehicle lifespan key to consumer wallet

What Apple's car project means for India and the world

The iCar future

Sumant Jayakrishnan

Best work momentMeeting Lady Gaga during rehearsals at the Indian Grand Prix Formula One after- party club that I had designed: she thought I was her sitar player! And, of course, setting up at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon with the hugely successful multilingual A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Tim SuppleBooks on your bedsideThe Forty Rules of Love (Elif Shafak), The Lucia series (E F Benson), The Hobbit (J R R Tolkien), Karan Singh (autobiography), among othersMassage or workout to destressWorkout or a run is my best stress busterFavourite accessoryAn antique silver ring from south India. It has a peacock motif engraved on it. Also, a black-and-white pair of Dior sunglassesDesigns that have caught your eye recentlyParrot Zik 2.0 by Philippe Starck - funky wireless headphones that I have just acquired, A hand-painted, 120-feet diameter, tensile tent from South Africa, which I just used in the Dubai desert as the heart of the design for a wedding cocktail e

My Life My Style: Sumant Jayakrishnan

Bhairav Dalal

Key developments
| Smart cities: Proposal to develop 100 of those, to offer sustainable development and employment to a wider section, regardless of skill, education or income level
| Reits: The Sebi (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014, notified. Reits will facilitate tapping of cash flow in the Indian economy, and help smaller investors access income-generating real estate assets
| FDI: Relaxation in rules for foreign direct investment in the construction sector. Some of these relaxed rules include reducing minimum built-up area and capital requirement for the projects receiving FDI
| The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2011: Yet to receive clearance from the Cabinet, it proposes to promote transparency and accountability. The Cabinet is deliberating on revising the Bill and having a regulator for the real estate sector.

Budget 2015-16 Wish list: Real estate

Intellectual property policy should focus on implementation

Appeasement for none

Government deserves credit for raising fuel prices

Making a choice

The furore over the monogrammed suit worn by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during US President Barack Obama's visit to India in January had barely died when it started making headlines again, this time for its auction in Surat. The Congress lost no time in attacking Modi for orchestrating the charity auction as a "damage control exercise". Party spokesperson Ajay Maken underscored how the prestige of the Prime Minister's Office had been undermined by a life-sized mannequin resembling Narendra Modi put on display at the three-day auction. Comparing the auction of the suit with the recently-concluded Indian Premier League auction of cricket players, Maken claimed the floor price for the suit was set at Rs 11 lakh.

Auction hero

"I have not lost just because everybody says so. Till my heart does not accept defeat, I am a winner," said former IPS officer and Bharatiya Janata Party's defeated chief ministerial candidate for Delhi, Kiran Bedi, while speaking at a book launch at the World Book Fair in New Delhi. Her book, Swachh Bharat Checklist, co-authored by entrepreneur Pavan Choudary, was launched at the fair. As for why one needed that book, she said Delhi was not "nai Dilli (New Delhi)" but "gandi Dilli (dirty Delhi)", which needed to be cleaned up fast.

Bedi's 'Mann ki Baat'

The Narendra Modi-government has sent out clear signals of cost-cutting ahead of the Union Budget. In a recent communication to top officials, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth said the government was looking to promote the use of information technology in its day-to-day functioning. He asked officials at the Centre to interact with state chief secretaries and other senior functionaries via video conference "to the extent possible". His note said, "The use of the video conferencing (VC) facility is very useful for conducting meetings as it saves the precious time of government functionaries and reduces expenditure." Besides cutting  travel costs, VC uses the internet, which means it is much cheaper and more convenient than a telephone call. It is also cheaper than video phone calls.

Veni, vidi, VC

While saying that quitting was a mistake, former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been singing the same song that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was before the Delhi Assembly elections. Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party got a majority in the polls. Now, Nitish seems to be hopeful that if he admits the "mistake" of quitting, the Bihar Assembly elections, to be held shortly, will bring the same luck to him. Nitish's expectation that Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi would vacate the seat at his bidding is misplaced. These are testing times for both Nitish and Manjhi.K V Seetharamaiah  Hassan (Karnataka)Letters 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: Quite a mistake

This refers to the book review "Regressed excess" (February 16). First, I bought and read the book. The concepts and the statistical tools may be complicated but till someone comes with an alternative matrix. It is surprising, or perhaps not, that the reviewer has omitted mentioning the most important fact the book brings out in the Indian context. That God  is not No. 1 even in one day internationals. He ranks fourteenth on a parameter and second on another. Has this finding by the authors clouded the 'not-too-happy' review of the book? The author regrets that form does not enter the picture of calculations. Your form is what you do on the field. And, if you are out of form for too long, pray why you were selected in the first place?T R Ramaswami   MumbaiLetters 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

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