Business Standard takes a look at the assets of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The state voted on Monday.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan: Asset watch

Business Standard

Recently, Iran and western powers signed a deal in which it was agreed the West Asian nation would scale down its nuclear programme in exchange for a cut in economic sanctions. For western powers, the deal is a way to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. For Iran, it's a lifeline for its beleaguered economy. The UN sanctions have severely restricted Iran's economic space. The country's GDP contracted for the first time in over a decade in 2012 and inflation soared to a record high. In the last several years, Iran's GDP grew at a CAGR of 2.3 per cent, a sharp contraction from 6.6 per cent growth recorded during 2002-07. Potentially, Iran remains one of the largest economies in the region with an investment rate comparable to that of India and rivalling that of Turkey, which has become one of the most attractive investment destinations in the region.

Iran Nuclear deal: An economic breather

Should more number of B-schools should join IPRS to bring in more transparency in placement process?

Students' Corner

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Filibuster farewell

Centre-state relations are stuck in a time warp

A more mature federation

Usually, it is finance ministry officials who come to Mumbai to talk to fund managers and analysts. So, when Veerappa Moily decided to hold an interactive session with them in the country's commercial capital - a first for the petroleum ministry - analysts came in large numbers. But the session was anything but interactive. First, the minister arrived over an hour late and, second, it was mostly one-way traffic. The minister, his secretary and joint secretary made long, repetitive speeches. After that, ONGC, the sponsor of the evening, made a presentation. Considering that it was well past 9.30 p m, the presentation, which started with an account of Bombay High and then went on to why ONGC deserved Maharatna status, encouraged many among the audience to troop out of the hall. The Q&A session started only after that but the moderator stopped it after just two questions on grounds that the minister had had a long day and would answer questions at the next morning's media conference a

One-way interaction

A senior official in one of the government companies was meeting journalists after the company's results. It was his last meeting before he moved to another public sector company. The spelling of his surname, Nayar, suggested he was from Punjab. But he surprised journalists by speaking in fluent Malayalam. When curious journalists asked why he spelt the name the northern way when most Malayalis spell it "Nair," the man, who has spent most of his career in the northern parts of the country, brushed it off saying, "It is good to be ambiguous, no?"

Due north

Social media has become the chosen vehicle for the Congress to fire cheap shots at its rivals. Predictably, the party jumped on the opportunity offered by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s snoopgate involving Narendra Modi's  close aide Amit Shah to pillory the rival's prime ministerial candidate. A senior Congress leader's Twitter post drew parallels with the Guru Dutt classic Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam. BJP must answer why "Saheb" was snooping on bibi through his ghulam (servant), the post read. He went on to add that the "bibi" in question referred to a respectable woman and should not be confused with the term for wife.

Saheb's bibi and ghulam

Devesh Kapoor, in his article "India's front rows" (November 27) provides a well-argued cause for why the perks enjoyed by public officials in India have become a matter of concern.The consequences of excessive and offending display of the perks have defeated their very purpose. Perks are now seen as status symbols rather than performance motivators. Their abuse by public figures has lowered their status in popular perception. This is truer of politicians than bureaucrats.However, in the "whew" inventory of perks, meant for the subordinate judiciary, the author included items that were more in the nature of benefits - house rent allowance, hill allowance, medical allowance and so on. House rent allowance is a benefit, while a fully-furnished house is a perquisite.Y G Chouksey  PuneLetters 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 addre

Letters: Perks as status symbols

Indira Rajaraman's column "Voting for governance" (Economically Speaking, November, 26) has rightly pointed out that India should vote for good governance. However, given the lack of literacy and proper debate in the polity on the desired level of government performance, this is not possible. Whenever people get fed up with misgovernance and want a change, the corrupt government morphs into beneficial garb (food security, land acquisition Bill) by inventing luring schemes to entice voters at the cost of taxpayers' money. As TV anchors discuss worthless topics, the more relevant problems get relegated to the back stage. This time the nation should resolve to vote for governance, and governance only.Chandan Parhi  BhubaneswarLetters 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: Voting for governance

This refers to the report "Your wait for that big I-T refund just got longer" (November 25). Even small and salaried taxpayers dream about timely income-tax refunds. Also, our taxes should be linked with the standard of living a citizen is supposed to enjoy, both in rural and urban areas - in terms of housing, education, health, transport and so on. In India, individual taxpayers, who are not able to earn, have never enjoyed social security benefits. The government doles out relief packages for farmers, whenever there is a drought or poor rainfall, in the form of farm loan waivers, free electricity etc. But for individual taxpayers, social security benefits have always remained a dream. In countries, such as the US and Germany, needy taxpayers enjoy social security benefits such as monthly minimum sustenance allowance, and funding for their children's education.Deendayal M Lulla  MumbaiLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah

Letters: Social security benefits

This refers to the report "Iran, six world powers clinch breakthrough nuclear deal" (November 25). The West Asian cauldron was kept boiling by the oil and arms lobby for decades. It has taken a liberal leaning US president to break through the cordon. The US' decreasing dependence on imported oil and the emergence of the "Arab spring" could be a factor for such peace initiatives. Should this deal go through and sustain, we would have a proven template for the resolution of many global conflicts. The US has also realised that it neither wants, nor is able to be the universal policeman, and that nations need to come together without compunction for the greater good.R Narayanan  GhaziabadLetters 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: Template of resolution

Business Standard looks at the assets of first time contestant Aarti Mehra

Aarti Mehra: Asset watch

Although developing countries compromise on climate change

Warsaw fails to deliver

With less money to buy arms, indigenisation is now imperative

Buying at home

Michael Spence, recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize for economics and Professor of Economics at Stern School of Business, New York University, made his stand clear on the Jagdish Bhagwati-Amartya Sen debate that roiled the media a few months ago. In the capital recently for a lecture, he was asked whose model he supported, Sen or Bhagwati's. "Amartya and who?" he replied deliberately. If anyone was left in further doubt of where he stood, he answered the question in more detail later, unequivocally saying Sen is partially right in attaching more weight to distribution for growth.

Amartya and the 'Who'

It is well known that Japan's famously soft Kobe beef is the result of the extreme extent to which the cows are pampered, including regular massages and classical music sessions. Now, a company in India offering organic milk boasts the superiority of its product on the basis of how it treats its cows. They get the choicest of food, the promotional literature says, and are kept in salubrious surroundings without being tied up (so as not to stress them). But the clincher was this: "We provide them (cows) good mattresses so that they get good and comfortable sleep". In a country where many people don't get to sleep on a mattress at all, that is certainly no small luxury.

Milk of human kindness

The recent goof-up over a Congress rally addressed by party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi at which only a handful of people attended revealed afresh the deep fissures within the Delhi unit of the party. Insiders said the venue and time of the rally had been fixed almost a year ago. The sparse turnout was the result of Gandhi reaching the venue almost two hours late and that was because he wanted to ensure maximum media coverage for a press conference addressed by the party's senior women leaders in protest against the "snooping" scandal involving the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Some party officials think this is nothing but an excuse. The real reason for the coincidence was the simmering discontent between Congress leader Ajay Maken and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Apparently Maken deliberately fixed the timing of the "snoopgate" press conference to coincide with Rahul Gandhi's rally because he wanted to embarrass Dikshit.

Timed out

This refers to the report "Your wait for that big I-T refund just got longer" (November 25). I wish the report were not based on facts. Not because I am waiting for a "huge income tax refund", but merely to have the comfort that in addition to all the allegations to which the government is already being subjected, the finance ministry doesn't end up defending accusations of "window dressing" managed by doubtful accounting practices to show a lower deficit figure.It is tough to understand how delayed payment of amounts that have already become payable will reduce expenditure. Anything is possible because we are hearing about thousands of crores of "unclaimed" deposits with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, Life Insurance Corporation, banks. With all the development in technology, can we not think of a more transparent accounting system for public funds?M G Warrier  MumbaiLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar

Letters: Window dressing

This refers to the report "Your wait for that big I-T refund just got longer" (November 25). This practice of the government is totally unfair to taxpayers who pay their tax honestly, and on time. If the government does not accept late income tax (I-T) filings, or charges a penalty for delayed I-T returns, then why should taxpayers accept a delay in their I-T refund? The government cannot bully law-abiding taxpayers from their rights because of economic mismanagement. In fact, there should be a stipulated time for I-T refunds or, the government must pay interest to taxpayers for the number of days for which the refund is delayed.Sagar Soni  GandhinagarLetters 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 fine on late refunds

This refers to A Seshan's letter "A danger at any time" (November 25). Banks can certainly afford the cost of providing adequate security at ATMs. If they have been complacent about this issue, it is probably because instances of robbery at ATMs have been few and far between. As the writer has argued, it is a wake-up call for the banks and the government to ensure that no effort is spared to step up security arrangements at these outlets to requisite levels.However, the suggestion that ATMs, barring a designated few in central locations, should be closed at night (9 p m to 5 a m) is retrograde. The Bangalore incident took place shortly after 7 a m and not in the dead of night. And the writer's other suggestion that banks could levy a special charge of, say, Rs 5 for every ATM transaction is unwarranted. If banks (particularly the public sector undertakings) pay adequate attention to improving their asset quality, obviating the need for large write-offs year after year, they will not on

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