Daniel Gros' article "In Europe, austerity works" (August 29) has sounded warning bells for us. The author has cited examples of several European countries that have faced economic constraints and had to look to external borrowings on stringent terms, hurting their citizens as a result of the austerity that followed. The conditions prevailing in those countries fit to our own country - unsustainable debt-to-GDP ratio, scary current account deficit and precariously poised foreign exchange reserves to service just five months' import requirements. It is not too late for our government to wake up and take credible measures to curb wasteful expenditure, without worrying much about the upcoming elections.Secondly, political parties and citizens should resort to painful austerity measures voluntarily now, rather than later, such as limiting the use of fuel-driven vehicles to the minimum by greater use of pubic transport or pooling up. Likewise, political parties should curtail the long convo

Letters: Accepting austerity

Business Standard

Your strongly worded editorial "Wrong Bill, wrong time" (August 28) will go in vain. The person who runs the country said, "I have made up my mind; do not confuse me with facts." Her only target is to install her most unwilling and uninspiring son on the thakth and for that if the country's economy needs to be sacrificed, let it be so. The most miserable story is that a group of spineless people lacks the courage to refrain her from playing ducks and drakes with the economy.Nirupam Haldar, KolkataLetters 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: Toying with the economy

Helpless government must look again at IMF option

Opinion: It's time for India to look again at the IMF option

Microsoft Corp has a stable of senior executives who could be contenders to succeed Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, even though outsiders have sparked the most discussion so far. The following is a list of potential internal candidates, with pros and cons, based on conversations with analysts and insiders. All except Raikes and Thompson are executive vice-presidents

Insiders who could be Microsoft CEO

Padmanabh Sinha

Impact of rupee fall on PE investments:While the rupee has depreciated at a CAGR of  four to five per cent over the last two decades, movements have usually been in step functions with sharp movements followed by periods of stability. Therefore, we feel this may be a good time to invest from a currency perspective.Handling exits in the current environment:We think that sales to strategies or other PEs might help investors realize value for sound businesses; accessing capital markets in the current environment is unadvisable. Handling the exchange rate issues will however be very challenging.Best things PEs can do nowWe continue to believe in the long term India growth story; this might also be a good time to invest in export oriented businesses given the green shoots in the developed world and the benefit to Indian exporters from the currency drop. While businesses with a significant import component will face margin pressures and demand compression, we think that current valuations pr

Good time to invest in export-oriented businesses: Padmanabh Sinha

Impact of rupee fall on Indian PE investmentsKKR is a long-term strategic investor, and our average private-equity investment is for five-to-seven years. For us, we provide "all-weather" capital. While the rupee depreciation will have near-term impact for short-term investors, in the long term, there will be elements of growth and appreciation with the Cabinet Committee clearing key projects, along with the recent tactical measures and foreign direct investment announcements.How the situation can be handled by PEs?As a long term investor, once the economic upturn kicks in, the reforms process starts and companies have the confidence of investing again.  Providing value-added solutions beyond just providing capital can play a key role in driving corporate growth. There are a lot of companies both the private and public sector that will look for more strategic long term capital, and private firms will play a key role in providing that capital.Will this situation hurt India's image as a P

Providing value-added solutions can play a key role: Sanjay Nayar

Tinkering with MGNREGA wages is dangerous

Plug the gaps

Even as the West is gearing up to intervene in Syria over the use of chemical weapons, a virtual war has started on Twitter that has dragged India into the controversy. A fake account with a Twitter handle @IndiaMEA is going viral in the name of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. The account has already produced four tweets, of which three say Khurshid has had telephone conversations with the Russian foreign minister, US secretary of state and British foreign minister expressing concern over action in Syria. The MEA spokesperson has had a tough time explaining that it is a fake account and does not belong to Khurshid. The MEA has also complained to Twitter but the incident does highlight one of the drawbacks of an ungoverned social media.

@faketwitterhandle

Anyone waiting at the reception of a department that comes under the ministry of urban development cannot miss the prominently displayed signboard on the wall that proclaims: "Bribing is Prohibited". Inside the office of a secretary-level official, a staffer barged in and, perhaps unaware that a journalist was present, asked his boss what gifts to carry for next day's meeting with a political appointee holding a very high position in the government. Maybe gifts come under some other definition.

Gift of the gab

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has announced plans to increase the number of  regional offices to between 10 and 16 around the country. The opening of these local Sebi offices has seen some officials being reassigned to various states. Many of these new offices are in capital cities of states known for their fair share of law and order problems. Sebi officials are said to have come up with a term for such transfers. They call it "capital punishment".

Executing orders

Apropos M J Antony's column "The flailing badge of courage" (Out Of Court,August 28), it is commendable that in (Surinder Singh vs Union of India) the Supreme Court recognised the prevalence of undue pressure from seniors under which civil servants function and compromise their fair judgement. But the apex court refused to come to the rescue of those who act courageously in discharging their duties and incur the wrath of the higher officials and are visited with not-so subtle forms of persecution - it rejected a public interest petition on behalf of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal saying that the officer can take care of herself. This is easier said than done. As the fate of Ashok Khemka and Arun Bhatia reveals, confronting powerful elements invites frequent transfers, at-work harassment, adverse performance appraisal and promotion denials.Following the judicial process is a slow path to justice. Article 311 of the Constitution provides no remedy to officers penalised with transfers. A

Letters: Protecting the honest

This refers to the editorial "Free-speech hypocrisy" (August 26). The US and the West are destroying the much-touted free speech and freedom of expression, for which they are known. The sentencing of US soldier Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning and detention of a Guardian journalist's companion at London's Heathrow airport sends a chill down one's spine. Even though the latter was released, the hard disks containing files related to whistle-blower Edward Snowden were confiscated and destroyed without any due process of law. The free press is in grave danger in a supposedly free nation. The UK seems to be acting at the behest of the US in the National Security Agency surveillance controversy. The journalists who had exposed the Watergate scandal, became heroes. The US has lost the right to call itself a protector of human rights and free media. It is heartening to note that the Guardian is fighting back with papers such as The New York Times and Germany's Der Spiegel.Deendayal M Lulla  Mumb

Letters: What about free speech?

This refers to the editorial "Non-performing managers"(August 26). This is a balanced view of the current position of the top management at public sector undertakings and banks. PSUs in India, including banks, have become whipping boys of the government and regulators. Government officials use these organisations  for carrying out their agenda. It is not that these organisations cannot compete with their private sector counterparts. They will outperform them if a level playing field in terms of skill, technology, opportunities and autonomy in management is assured. But to make this possible, the selection procedure, at least from middle-management level will need an overhaul.M G Warrier  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: Level the playing field

Dear Students,LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Do you think education institutions should be kept out of service tax purview?BEST RESPONSEThe educational loan given by banks is still not a preferred option for parents due to high interest rates and repayment of the interest right from the commencement of the course. Students opting for educational loans also have to shell out higher amounts due to service tax component. Undergraduate/postgraduate course fees are also rising. On one hand, the government encourages people to take education through various schemes and on the other hand makes people pay service tax on education courses. The service tax is not small. It is 12 per cent, which is very high for students opting for any course.Anand A Wadadekar, SAMVIT School of Infrastructure Business, PuneOTHER RESPONSESEducational institutes should be tax-exempted, as innovation and development takes place only by increasing the country's literacy rate, which in turn, can be achieved only by establishing

Students' corner

LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Do you think education institutions should be kept out of the purview of service tax?

Student's corner

Business Standard brings to you the regulations governing the Securities and Exchange Board of India's Fit and Proper criteria for exchanges

Some things you wanted to know about Sebi

The Indian market is the second worst performing, followed by Brazil, among major global markets so far in 2013. Both nations' performance in dollar terms is even worse, thanks to a more than 15 per cent slide in their respective currencies against the dollar

Brazil, India worst performers

Wrong Bill, wrong time

Avoid forecasting markets

The proportion of food grain lost in storage and transit in the first quarter of 2013-14 was so high (0.37 per cent in storage and 0.55 per cent in transportation) that a Parliamentary question on this issue to the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution was "lost". The starred question number 34, which was due to be answered on August 6, was nowhere to be found on the Lok Sabha website, though the questions preceding and following it were uploaded. Of course, a hard copy of the answer was available, but it is interesting that the online omission remains. Did it have something to do with the passage of the food security Bill in the Lok Sabha?

Food losses for thought

A section of the Bharatiya Janata Party is quite desperate to project Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the party's prime ministerial nominee ahead of the general elections. To this end, some of the mandals in Mumbai and Thane celebrating Janamashtami, the birth of Krishna, plan to project Modi as the god in their annual Dahi Handi competitions. Some mandals are even preparing special Modi masks. Meanwhile, others are planning to give away gunny bags of onions as prizes for the teams that manage to break the auspicious handi, a telling comment as any on the government's mismanagement of the food supply chain.

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