When the Supreme Court bench expressed its intention to restrict Sahara promoter Subrata Roy's overseas travel in a contempt case filed by the stock market regulator, Sahara counsel C A Sundaram tried to explain that the news would be splashed across the media and tarnish the group's reputation. The court stood firm and, sure enough, there was a scramble among reporters in the courtroom to rush out to flash the news. Indicating the commotion, Sundaram told the judge, "This is what I was referring to, my lord. It is going to be all over business paper headlines tomorrow." To which Justice J S Khehar drily pointed out, "Why don't you see the silver lining? Below those headlines, your name will also be there."

Sahara's 'silver lining'

Business Standard

Utterly butterly undelicious

But all IT firms should address larger picture

Setback for Infosys

No recovery yet

The cynics might say Election Commission (EC) strictures on poll expenditure are observed more in the breach, but an old party hand who has organised meetings and rallies for decades complains that campaigning has become a "phika" (lacklustre) affair because every little expense has to be accounted for. The headache begins as soon as an eager party worker garlands the candidate - if it's a small garland an expense of Rs 250 is logged and for a big garland Rs 900. Since accounting for such small items in the election expenses is a slog, parties have started discouraging garlanding. Then again, he adds, parties also have to be cautious of revealing the actual number of people who attended a poll meeting because the EC starts tabulating the cost of chairs used. Parties are also wary of serving tea for the same reason. As a result, the candidates arrive, deliver their speeches and leave. "What fun is there in that?" he laments.

Spent force

The economic division of the finance ministry has been headless since September when Raghuram Rajan moved to the Reserve Bank of India as governor, and a replacement looks unlikely anytime soon. Meanwhile, the division has suffered another vacancy with Principal Economic Advisor Dipak Dasgupta's tenure ending. The top two positions are vacant at a time when the Mid-Year Analysis of the economy is due in the winter session of Parliament and the Delhi Economics Conclave is scheduled for December. Economic division officials now occasionally turn to Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram for help. It appears, however, they are comfortable handling both the Analysis and the Conclave. The only problem is that there won't be a face behind them either, so Mayaram may have to pitch in.

Situations vacant

Apropos the Chinese Whispers item "Lobby encounter" (October 31) can be absolutely true even though it's a chinese whisper. When Ratan Tata had laid down his executive responsibilities last year, the State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ) wanted to thank him publicly as a salute to his immense and manifold contributions to the Indian economy. The bank has a hoarding at a very prominent and highly-visible location on Marine Drive in Mumbai, which was dedicated to momentous occasions such as Sachin Tendulkar's felicitation on his 100th century or the completion of 100 glorious years of Indian cinema. As the then managing director of the bank, I had approached Tata to seek his concurrence to use his photograph for this purpose.Tata, while thanking us for our gesture, had conveyed that he preferred to stay away from publicity. He is indeed publicity-shy but a gentleman to the core and always conducts himself with humility. Hats off to him for what he is and what he has contributed to th

Letters: No publicity, please

This refers to the report "Delhi HC cancels CMAT, pvt B-schools cheer" (October 31). This judgment by the Delhi High Court and a similar judgment by the Supreme Court in April, are a big blow to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and a much stronger blow to the students and parents who believed in AICTE and regarded it as a regulatory body for MBA courses. It is now clear that students and parents were misguided and institutions who did not have AICTE affiliation have suffered a reputational loss. These judgments now need to be publicised to parents and students to make them aware.Anand Wadadekar  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 address and telephone number

Letters: Dashed hopes

This refers to Barun Roy's column "The urbanisation question" (Asia File, October 31). In January 2011, the western media reported that China was building a mega-city with a population of 43 million, connecting nine towns in the Pearl River Delta. Neither did our media report this news, nor wrote an analytical report of how we could also tailor such schemes.It was, however, heartening to note an announcement last year to merge Chennai with the three adjacent districts encompassing 8,000 sq km. But further details on transport links were not given. Ten years back, the National Democratic Alliance government announced plans to modernise 300 smaller airports in India. These modernised airports, if linked by improved transportation with towns in their hinterland, would have resulted in greater economic activity. However, details of the progress achieved in the last 10 years are not available in the public domain. If similar linking of towns is planned for the vast region covered by the nor

Letters: Town planning

The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) population saw improvement in key socio-economic indicators such as sex ratio and workers' participation, according to the Census 2011 data. However, the data show a decline in child sex ratio among the STs, and an increase in the number of marginal workers

'Marginal' improvement

Investor rush still seen unlikely"The 21,000 level is meaningless. In the past five years, earnings have grown 40 per cent. One should look at the P/E. We are very positive on the market despite elections being around the corner."Milind BarveMD, HDFC AMC"I don't think the Sensex is a good measure of the market. One can look at investing in equities even at these levels, as there is a lot of value in many companies. If the outcome of the election is good, you could see a sharp up-move."Ashu SuyashCEO, L&T Mutual Fund"We won't see a mad rush of people investing in mutual funds just because the market is going up. If the markets keep going up, investors will not come. If the market corrects to 18,000-levels you will see investors coming in."Sundeep SikkaCEO, Reliance Capital AMC"I believe the markets are quite polarised. Some of the large-caps are highly valued and there are some mid-cap stocks that are available cheap. Value is available at any level in the market."Nimesh ShahMD &amp

Look beyond the Sensex summit, advise fund bosses

India has contributed to Bangladesh's political turmoil

Abandoning Dhaka

New Delhi must now focus on restoring growth

Back to the government

Almost a fortnight has passed since Eid-ul-zuha was celebrated but festive times continue for cattle traders in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. The price of goats, which are traditionally sacrificed on that day, have been steadily rising instead of falling after the festival. The reason has to do with the upcoming Assembly elections. In the Bastar tribal belt, goat meat is served with rice as a celebration. So, some Vidhan Sabha aspirants have spotted an opportunity that probably escaped Election Commission scrutiny and, to the surprise of villagers in the area, the dawn breaks with an unusual gift - a goat tied outside their hut.

Goat for me

The Dalai Lama's teachings are not always easy to imbibe, Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal ruefully told students at the Shri Ram College of Commerce in a lecture a few days ago. Talking about a visit to Dharamshala, where the Dalai Lama lives, he said he has been able to accept most of his teachings that include giving priority to his health and then his family. But, he joked, even after years he finds one lesson hard to digest. "If you have money beyond your need, you are a thief," the Dalai Lama told him. "I am still trying to practise that!" he said.

The money conundrum

As the lift door opened, a guest at the Taj Mahal hotel in central Delhi, a property managed by the Tata group, was surprised to find Ratan Tata waiting in the lobby to take the same lift. The guest immediately whipped out his mobile phone and requested a "selfie" with Tata, much to the discomfort of the publicity-shy chairman emeritus. With Tata murmuring excuses about being in a rush, a hotel executive appeared just in time to usher him into the lift. Tata was in the capital last week meeting key central ministers and senior government officials along with his joint venture partner for the group's second airline project. So the photograph would certainly have had historical value.

Lobby encounter

This refers to the editorial "The wrong speeches" (October 29). Speeches have lost relevance in terms of a party laying out its vision for the nation .The Nehruvian era of thoughtful speeches is lost to history. Today, speeches are vote bank-centric and for vituperative purposes. The nation is taken for granted by every leader without exception. No wonder, then, that Narendra Modi had to recognise that minorities just can't be wished out of electoral calculus. His development theme can tug at the mind but not the hearts that have been traditionally nurtured in secular ethos. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with its one-point anti-corruption pitch, could be the exact opposite. Its fledgling stature cannot accommodate a larger canvas. The Congress is geriatric. Of course, the regional parties gaining momentum in a political vacuum of sorts, remain narrow opportunists and their speeches are worn on the sleeve and tailored to an occasion. They sanely opt to remain a puzzle till the very end. In

Letters: Speech therapy

This refers to the Chinese Whispers item "Work in progress" (October 30). There is nothing wrong in the optimism of the Wipro management team. Our finance ministers and prime ministers, too, keep assuring us the prices will come down once it rains, or floods will subside and that the future is bright. This assurance has been held out for onions as well. In this context, I remember a hit song of my generation, Que Sera, Sera (Whatever will be, will be), that featured in the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and was sung by Doris Day. Let's all hope that the future is bright, if not for the elderly, at least, for the younger generation.H N Ramakrishna  BangaloreLetters 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: Whatever will be, will be

This refers to the report "PM & Modi share dais, slug it over Sardar Patel's legacy" (October 30). After his death in 1950, no Congress member, till yesterday, remembered Patel, let alone claiming his legacy. The prime minister, while proud to be in a party in which Patel once worked, and also hoping that the Congress leadership was not offended, conveniently avoided all his contribution to the nation and the Congress, and only referred to him as "secular". Sardar Patel, could never become the prime minister since Mahatma Gandhi preferred Jawaharlal Nehru. But undeterred, Patel did commendable work during his short stint as deputy prime minister and home minister. He differed with Nehru on many vital issues. The Congress has forgotten him conveniently, and even avoided "rhetoric" references, advertisements, on his birth/death anniversaries. Only the Narmada dam was named after him as the "Sardar Sarovar" dam.N Ramamurthy  ChennaiLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Edito

Letters: The Iron Man's legacy

Is the recent 100 per cent fee hike at National Institutes of Technology justified?

Business Standard

Business Standard

Page 665 - Business Standard

Sahara's 'silver lining'

Utterly butterly undelicious

Setback for Infosys

No recovery yet

Spent force

Situations vacant

Letters: No publicity, please

Letters: Dashed hopes

Letters: Town planning

'Marginal' improvement

Look beyond the Sensex summit, advise fund bosses

Abandoning Dhaka

Back to the government

Goat for me

The money conundrum

Lobby encounter

Letters: Speech therapy

Letters: Whatever will be, will be

Letters: The Iron Man's legacy

Student's corner