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Drug major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has let the cat out of the bag. It is shocking but true that GSK pays doctors to promote its drugs. This means helpless patients have been paying for the drugs as well as indirectly paying the doctors who prescribe them. Even though GSK claims to have taken a cleansing step voluntarily, there is no doubt it was prompted by the investigations launched in this regard in China. We need to ask ourselves whether China is overtaking us in enforcing ethical practices. Will Indian drug companies follow suit, or will they continue such practices till they get a rap on the knuckles by a regulator?Angelo Extross,  PuneLetters 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: Popping the pill

This refers to the editorial "A surprise pause" (December 19). Though Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan's decision to keep key policy rates on hold has been widely hailed by the industry, certain quarters however feel the apex bank has softened its stance on inflation and Rajan is perhaps losing his credibility in arresting inflation. Sometimes, no decision also amounts to a good decision. Remember, the market was almost prepared for a rate hike of 25 basis points. By maintaining status quo on key policy rates, the RBI has not only surprised the market, but is also trying to indicate it would want the things to settle down before taking a call at an opportune time.The message from Mint Road is also clear that the RBI would not hesitate to take a call when the situation warrants and not wait for a monetary policy review. The RBI governor has, in a way, again infused a sense of confidence to improve market sentiments which is critical to get back to the high growth mode

Letters: A balancing act

Reports on the Devyani Khobragade case make it clear that there is something fishy about the whole episode. All the events that have come to light through media reports cause confusion and doubt. According to the law of the land, it was correct on the part of the US to take the case seriously. If the diplomat was strip-searched, it was in accordance with the Policy Directives and Protocols of the US Marshals Service.As usual, our parliamentarians and politicians have raised a hue-and-cry over the issue, and the UPA government has hidden behind the issue to deflect attention from the fact that it failed to address the treatment of Indian domestic workers in Arab countries. Every political party is hoping to win some votes in the general elections by giving the impression that they fought for the right of one of India's citizens. It would be good if the political parties contesting the general elections add the domestic workers' issue to their election manifesto.E Rajakumar Arulanandham,

Letters: What about domestic help?

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha was seen carrying a copy of the Constitution of India at a recent event in Delhi at which he was the chief guest. He held on to it even as he took the podium. To explain why, he told the audience that it was part of a lesson he had learned as a bureaucrat. When he was a director in the ministry of industries, he said, the joint secretary advised him to carry, for effect, "a bunch of papers or files, even useless ones" whenever he attended a meeting with a senior official. "I brought this Constitution along with that purpose," Sinha joked. That flattered the audience, but it does beg the question of whether the Constitution can be considered just "a bunch of papers".

'Constitutional' question

The public outrage in India over the arrest of Indian Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade in the US was echoed in both Houses of Parliament. In the Rajya Sabha, where the Opposition ensured that the matter was taken up for discussion, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury held forth on how America had consistently been playing "Big Brother" and India, as always, "was bending over backwards for the US". In the middle of this serious discussion with MPs crying out in unison "shame, shame", the House suddenly plunged into darkness. Yechury was heard addressing the chairman, "Sir, when we criticise the United States of America, even the electricity in Parliament goes off. Please understand the depth of bending over backwards that you have done in the strategic relationship," leading to peals of laughter. When power was restored within a minute, a witty Yechury shot back, "Only when we assert our voice does the power come back!"

Arrested development

It is well known that politicians are great believers in astrology with political parties even ensuring that crucial announcements are not made during shraddh, an inauspicious period in the Hindu calendar. But their superstitions are not restricted to calendar cycles alone. It turns out the daily wardrobe of a majority of members of Parliament is decided by planetary alignments. So on Mondays, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will see a profusion of shades of cream and white, Tuesdays (Mangal/ Mars) have the House benches awash with shades of red and pink, Wednesdays (Buddh/ Mercury) have MPs sporting shades of green, Thursdays (Brihaspati/ Jupiter) see women MPs, in particular, in bright yellow and orange sarees while Fridays (Shukr/ Venus) have MPs wearing myriad shades of blue. If Saturdays would have been a working day in Parliament, then MPs would certainly have turned up dressed in black in deference to Shani dev (Lord of Saturn).

Astrological dress code

Lok Pal important measure, but more needed

A historic step forward

Now, India's policymakers must focus on domestic bottlenecks

Fear of tapering

Casual barbarism of US arrest procedure revealed

Searching question

The Reserve Bank of India opted for the status quo on both interest rates and cash reserve ratio in Wednesday's mid-quarter review of its monetary policy, which pleasantly surprised the market, which had factored in a 25-bp rate hike due to high inflation numbers in November. Here is why the central bank may have decided to hold the repo rate at 7.75%

Wait and watch

Taimur Baig

In our view, RBI's decision to take a pause in the last policy meeting of 2013 is inconsistent with its recent guidance. Despite the sharp upside surprise in November's CPI- and WPI-based inflation data, and the fact that surveys show inflation expectations have risen sharply, RBI chose to wait and see for further evidence of inflation.Does RBI's reasoning stand up to scrutiny? The policy statement cites three arguments for the pause:i) Vegetable prices, the key driver of inflation in recent months, have started falling in the past couple of weeks (in the first fortnight of December, daily prices of 10 food items tracked by us are down, by an average seven per cent on a month-on-month basis)ii) A stable exchange rate will likely have a disinflationary effectiii) Negative output gap and lagged impact of monetary tightening will limit further inflation.Given that the data out-turn of the past couple of months have challenged the central bank's latest forecasts, and the conditions set in

Close call' move delays rate hike by a month: Taimur Baig

Centre for Policy Research gets funds from IDRC Think Tank Initiative Grant, Google.org, World Bank, United Nations' agencies, Planning Commission and the government, among others. Here is a look at the funding sources of some bodies

Funding sources

The market was expecting at least a 25 basis points increase in policy rates after last week's high consumer inflation number. However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unexpectedly decided to keep key policy rates on hold. Surprised by the RBI's decision, a journalist at the press conference immediately after the policy announcement asked Governor Raghuram Rajan, "We were expecting a Volcker, we got a Yellen." To which the governor answered,"Why a Volcker or a Yellen, how about a Rajan?"

Raghuram does a Rajan

When the government came out with clarifications on the multi-brand retail policy earlier this year, months after the cabinet allowed 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector, the industry, without exception, had expressed disappointment. Some retailers did so on record, but many preferred anonymity. In fact, it was on the basis of those reservations that retail sector consultants and pundits concluded that no foreign investment was expected until the tough riders on sourcing and investment were relaxed. But with UK's Tesco filing the first FDI application in multi-brand retail, the industry is now pointing its fingers at American chain Walmart for making all the noise over "stringent conditions" linked to the policy. Walmart's Asia head Scott Price had recently said coming into multi-brand retail in India under the conditions imposed was not feasible.

The Walmart factor

Listed companies often like to flaunt the cash on their balance sheets. Not if you are a public sector enterprise, whose managers are trying to hide their cash from the owners. Recently, the government announced it plans to ask the companies it owns to dole out higher dividends to help meet the fiscal deficit target. Soon after, a senior official of one of the largest government-owned companies was asked about the cash on the books. His reply said it all: "Please don't highlight our cash position, otherwise we will be forced to give special dividends. We really need that cash for the huge capex we have lined up!"

Hiding the cash stack

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has surprised the market by keeping interest rates unchanged which was expecting an increase of at least 25 basis points. Despite the high levels of inflation and slowing economic growth, the decision to keep key policy rates unchanged is a very bold move. Industry will definitely be pleased. Perhaps, the RBI wants things to settle down further and gain a clear perception of the eventualities ahead by taking into account the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting due on the future of the economic stimulus.Srinivasan Umashankar  NagpurLetters 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 cautious move

This refers to the arrest and humiliation of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on charges of visa fraud by US officials. Every time a citizen of the country is harassed or humiliated, the government sends a 'strongly worded' letter and the matter ends. It is a welcome relief that, at last, wiser counsel prevailed and India took retaliatory measures. The repetition of such incidents at regular intervals suggests that other countries give scant regard to our letters.It would be interesting to imagine the reaction of the US administration if a US diplomat had faced a similar situation in India. The government's counter-attack in this case, though belated, may have many cascading effects but we cannot compromise on the dignity of the nation and its citizens at any cost. We should also generate international opinion about such reprehensible acts by a country which claims to be the most liberal in the world. If there is a worldwide protest in solidarity to India, US administration will have

Letters: Better late than never

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) should not get into any coalition or even accept outside support from any political party to form a government in Delhi. The AAP has created the perfect political structure by forcing the electorate to either give a party a clear majority or go for re-election. When a party gets a majority, it cannot give the coalition excuse for non-performance.The AAP should, in fact, try and become the largest opposition until it gains political experience. Currently, the AAP has not proved its mettle in governance, but even the Congress in 1947 was inexperienced. It had lost a substantial portion of Kashmir within a year of rule. The strategy of the AAP should be pehle aap (you first), but AAP aap ke peechay hai (AAP is behind you). The AAP should expand its electoral campaigns in cities and in the constituencies of other political leaders. This will make these leaders scramble to retain their seats with no time to campaign elsewhere.T R Ramaswami  MumbaiLetters can be mai

Letters: The AAP strategy

A surprise pause

Radhika Rao

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor's hawkish rhetoric has fed into rate rise expectations for December. And, the data concur. An uptick in Consumer Price Index-based inflation in November might have allowed the central bank to demur at this month's policy meeting.But the sharp jump points to stubbornly high inflation, despite a negative output gap. Not acting would dilute the central bank's hitherto strong stance and risk its credibility. Therefore, we expect another 25-basis-point rate rise at the coming review.Against this backdrop, the US Fed's decision on December 17-18 will also be of interest. Indian policymakers' move to build defences during the recent period of improved risk appetite, following the Fed's decision not to taper in September, was both prudent and opportunistic. It should help markets weather an eventual cutback in US asset purchases, even if some hit is unavoidable.Further, an RBI committee's report on the monetary policy framework is the other big factor t

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