Even the Planning Commission was not untouched by the row over deputy consul Devyani Khobragade in the last few weeks. Recently, a senior official from the Planning Commission refused to take part in a panel discussion in which a top US official in India was also participating. An anodyne official reason for the Planning Commission official's absence was given, but insiders said the real reason was that he had expressed discomfort at sharing the dais with someone representing the US government when his own government was in the middle of a diplomatic confrontation.

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Business Standard

Call it the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) effect, but power bills in Delhi appear to have begun conforming to the party's election manifesto even before Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet were sworn in. Many residents in South Delhi saw a substantial reduction in their power bills in the past two months, with average bills for a small household dropping from Rs 800 a month a few months ago to Rs 500 a month in the last billing cycle. But the latest bill that arrived last Tuesday saw the amount dropping to Rs 350 a month. Of course, this includes the subsidy the Delhi government doles out for consumption below 200 units a month plus the onset of winter, which lowers power consumption. But a local electrician who visits nearly 10 homes a day says the power discoms were under pressure from the Sheila Dikshit administration to keep bills low before the elections. What has amazed many consumers, however, is that the latest bill came after the election results.

Delhi's power politics

This refers to the editorial "Autonomy for ATMs" (December 27). It would be interesting to note that considering the low degree of functional autonomy in public sector banks (PSBs), their overall performance is still better. PSBs together control more than 70 per cent of assets in the Indian banking system, have a huge network of branches spread across the country and also have socio-economic commitments towards the society. All said and done, PSBs are finding it increasingly difficult to evolve with time vis-à-vis keeping pace with the fast changing developments in the banking and finance world in terms of meeting the additional capital requirements for their future expansion programmes and sorting issues related to manpower and succession planning. This certainly does not suggest that granting greater functional autonomy will help them sort out all the issues at one go, but it will enable them confront the issues in the most effective and meaningful manner considering their individu

Letters: Banks & autonomy

This refers to the report "A step forward, a step back for Modi" (December 27). The Ahmedabad court's clean chit to Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gulberg Society case is a big jolt to all who alleged Modi's involvement in the massacre of Muslims in the post-Godhra Gujarat riots. The verdict must have shattered the hopes of the Congress and all Modi's adversaries of his prosecution in the case. People were still arguing on news channels of Modi's culpability in the riots and said it was not an end to the matter; the verdict is challengeable in the higher courts. Incidentally, the same day, the Centre took a decision to set up a commission of inquiry into the Gujarat Police's surveillance on a young woman in 2009 and fixing a time-limit of three months to submit its report. With the 2014 general elections just four months away, the Centre's decision is justifiably seen as a conspiracy against Narendra Modi. The message going around is the Congress, unable to fight Modi politically and scared

Letters: Anti-Modi conspiracy?

This refers to the article "China's successful city" (December 27). The Foshan experiment should be studied further by our urban experts keeping in view our financial resources and, more importantly, the six components that were applied in Foshan. Two years ago, the British media reported Chinese plans for creating a large megacity with 42 million people. It envisaged linking nine cities in the Pearl river delta, of which Foshan was one. We would do well if we have our own experiments of linking cities. Tamil Nadu has announced the enlarging of the Chennai Metropolitan area by adding the adjacent three districts to it.S Subramanyan  New DelhiLetters 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: Connecting cities

The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars to make itself audit-ready before two deadlines - one in 2014, and the other in 2017

The long march

The greatest

Law to reshape regulatory landscape needs expansion

Reforming regulators

Govt must give up majority control of public sector banks

Autonomy for ATMs

With former IRS officer Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) set to form a government in Delhi, bureaucrats from the Union Territory cadre posted in the central government have started lobbying for plum postings in the state government. To this end, one such bureaucrat who is also the private secretary to a Union cabinet minister, has reportedly already met AAP leaders. On the other hand, several central services bureaucrats who are uncomfortable with Kejriwal's style of functioning and his promises have started looking for other options. And that applies to those in state utilities. Many top Delhi Transport Corporation officials are reportedly jittery about AAP's promise that they need to travel in public transport at least once a week.

The first posts

Though Congress leaders will not admit it publicly, they are deeply upset at the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) victory. So much so that even senior leaders do not hesitate to deride AAP at any opportunity. A Congress party briefing on minority community issues saw Union Minister Salman Khurshid -  making a rare appearance at the party headquarters -  do just that.  When reporters questioned him on the secrecy of decision-making in the party, Khurshid shot back, "Where is the secrecy? Here I am answering all your queries sitting in this room. Of course, you can't expect me to have an open-air discussion at Ram Leela Maidan!" That was a dig at Arvind Kejriwal's decision to have his swearing-in ceremony at the Ram Leela grounds. Khurshid added for good measure: "See, I tell you things as they are. I don't make you promises of free water and halving of electricity bills!"

The AAP effect

The Congress' new look website www.inc.in, which was quietly launched this week, was so "revolutionary" by the party's own standards that it set tongues wagging within the organisation. The snazzy-looking website, which almost resembles a corporate website - with a slide show on the Congress' achievements, real time updates on closed-door party events and speeches - greatly shocked party elders  who are used to the party's tight-lipped working policy. So much so that some even claimed that the website had been hacked. For several hours there was no clarity, with most wondering whether transparency and involvement of the public were actually possible in this elephantine organisation. By the evening, confirmation came from the party that it was indeed its own website. Incidentally, the Congress has taken a leaf out of the Aam Aadmi Party book with the Congress seeking "online donations" on its website, which are entitled to tax exemptions.

Online confusion in Congress

This refers to Barun Roy's column "Rise of the aam aadmi" (Asia File, December 26). Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has demonstrated well the famous English proverb "where there is a will there is a way". If one is determined in one's endeavour, he is bound to achieve the goals. Winning a seat in the national territory for the first time and that too against a well-established rival Sheila Dikshit, who was ruling the capital for more than a decade, is by no means a small achievement. He has created a furore by refusing to take "Z" category security and deciding not to move to the government bungalow, much to the discomforts of many political parties and bosses who are in a state of fix. This departure from the past is a welcome step. If a few dozen more people like Kejriwal rule the country, India can certainly do wonders. He will now be an inspiration for the young generation to get into to politics. The standard of Indian politics is at its lowest ebb. The challenge ahead

Letters: A welcome departure

This refers to A K Bhattacharya's column "What Mr Kejriwal can learn from V P Singh" (New Delhi Diary, December 25). The column highlights Singh's failure to bring the corrupt to book. I feel there is nothing wrong in initiating action. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has kept its first promise by fulfilling the wish of the people by forming a government in Delhi. Now, it is delivery time. The party needs to deliver in a planned, phased and systematic manner. Immediately, they could reduce electricity tariff to create confidence among the people. On other promises that may appear impossible to fulfill, it depends on the efficiency and ability of a person which makes the impossible, possible. Did we not achieve self-sufficiency in food? We wish the new government all the success. If the Congress withdraws support, it will be at its own risk. In a way, the success of the AAP government will be a success for the Congress too.Jacob Sahayam  ThiruvananthapuramLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mai

Letters: Lessons learnt

The article "Another scam in the making" (December 23) does not take into consideration the sharp rise in international prices of oil and gas since the last production sharing contract governing the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin concession was signed. Even after doubling the gas price from January 1, 2014, the KG basin gas will be cheaper than the gas imported by GAIL. The government cannot skirt behind technicalities but must take pragmatic views. The Dabhol power plant in Maharashtra is a case in point. The Ratnagiri Gas & Power Pvt Ltd (RGPPL), as a gas-based plant, cannot supply power at a rate determined by the regulator and has become sick in the process. RGPPL has been defaulting in monthly debt servicing as it was unable to receive necessary payments from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MahaVitaran), which buys 95 per cent of the power produced in the state under the power purchase agreement. Banks are now threatening to declare the Dabhol plant a non-

Letters: No scam

Six personalities who became the faces of the financial sector

Newsmakers of 2013

One MNC says it will stop, but what about Indian companies?

Paying off doctors

Number of slums drops, but rural toilets still a problem

Good news, and bad

Supporters of Ravindra Choubey, senior Congress politician and leader of the Opposition in the previous Chhattisgarh Assembly, attribute the party's defeat in the latest state elections to his reluctance to use a helicopter to campaign in various constituencies as he was required to do. They are particularly incensed because leaders of the Satnam Sena, the party representing scheduled castes formed with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party, thought nothing of using choppers for electioneering. One Satnam Sena leader even landed in Choubey's constituency and held a number of election meetings. The Satnam Sena, in fact, split the vote in several constituencies to the Congress' detriment. Now, it seems Choubey does not want to repeat the mistake during the upcoming general elections. He is reportedly enquiring about chopper rates and has solicited quotes from aviation companies.

Chopper effect

Several Bharatiya Janata Party ministers whose work profiles changed after the latest Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh are finding it difficult to let go of their old ministries. For instance, Brijmohan Agrawal, who is considered a "strong" leader, was cut to size during the allocation of ministerial portfolios. In the last term, he oversaw the important public works department (PWD). This time, he has been allotted the low-profile education portfolio. No matter, his interest in PWD endures. Recently at a railway station, he asked a senior official to ensure the immediate implementation of a project converting a disused narrow gauge rail line into a road. Then again, former agriculture minister Chandrashekhar Sahu lost the election but does not miss any state programme on agriculture - not even the release of a souvenir.

Old habits

Dear Students,LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Do you think the public-private-partnership (PPP) model should be scrapped in the case of Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)?NO BEST RESPONSEOTHER RESPONSESInformation technology (IT) is a dynamic field and calls for regular innovation and extensive R&D. IT institutions should be organic and flexible so that they can adapt with the times. Government departments are usually rule-bound, making these rigid and highly incompetitive. IIITs are a novel way to have an industry-academia partnership. They provide students with much-needed corporate exposure and recruitment. This model should be extended to other fields like medical science, management, etc.Anasuya Mukherjee, Hindu College, Delhi UniversityThe IIITs are being managed and controlled by government bodies that have the experience of running the institutes. Private firms would lack such experience. There are chances that private firms would increase the fees, and looking at the

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