But keep a close eye on a new Telangana state

Too late for caution

Business Standard

Though contentious, official figures revealed that the proportion of people living below poverty line came down from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12, a decline of 15.3 percentage points in the period that roughly coincided with the first eight years of the UPA rule at the Centre. This may belie criticism that growth is not percolating.

Green shoots tracker

India Inc produces worst results in five quarters

No daylight yet

Ask any reporter on the petroleum and natural gas beat about the safest story to write about and the answer will be: Shale gas policy in another 15 days. That, at any rate, has been Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily's promise since January this year. Commenting on Moily's never-ending 15-day deadline, an exasperated executive from a private sector exploration major exclaimed, "Maybe you journalists are following Gregorian calendar and your minister may be talking in terms of light years."

Time out

Chhattisgarh's Forest Minister Vikram Usendi recently found himself desperately searching for a forest. Literally. It turned out that Usendi wished to make a documentary on himself and have some photographs taken for his personal album. Not unnaturally, the film-makers and photographers suggested he be shot against the background of a forest. Now, although he is forest minister, and comes from Antagarh, which has beautiful, dense forests, he cannot go there because he is on the Naxalites' hit list. His staff then began searching for a suitable "forest" against which he could be photographed and finally hit on a research centre on the outskirts of the capital city which had densely planted trees on its campus. The minister duly posed against this "forest" as the video-maker and photographers went to work.

Missing the forest

Bharatiya Janata Party National Secretary Poonam Mahajan landed in Raipur and was taken to the Naya Raipur - the new capital city of Chhattisgarh and the biggest infrastructure achievement that Chief Minister Raman Singh has claimed  in his tenure so far. She was scheduled to attend programmes only after visiting Naya Raipur. But the ride to the new capital was not so smooth and she ran into huge traffic jams that delayed her arrival to a press meet by 20 minutes. Mahajan apologised for the delay and did not hesitate to explain the reason. Interestingly, all BJP leaders visiting from outside had applauded Singh for infrastructure development in the new city. But not Mahajan, who did not even refer to Naya Raipur or its good roads.

Raman's bumpy ride

A K Bhattacharya's column "Are we headed to the IMF?" (Raisina Hill), and the report "Is IMF loan a viable option?" (both July 29) are comprehensive in different ways with regard to the question on whether or not India should take a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, there is a third alternative.India can take an option to borrow. This is called a credit line. This is different from an actual loan. It is, as mentioned already, only an option to take a loan. The option may or may not be exercised depending on the circumstances. A credit line is a safeguard and works somewhat like foreign exchange reserves, though, the cost can be less. Foreign exchange reserves in India have declined over time. This is particularly true in relation to the national income. Many feel that there is a need to supplement these. However, they need not be supplemented by more reserves. Instead, these can be supplemented by cheaper credit lines.There is, of course, an issue of conditional

Letters: IMF - The third alternative

This refers to the report "IAS officer leading crackdown on sand mafia suspended" (July 28). The Uttar Pradesh government's decision to suspend Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Durga Shakti Nagpal has unveiled the corrupt face of the government since the newly appointed officer had waged a war against the sand mafia in Gautam Budh Nagar.  Nagpal's suspension will surely demotivate young IAS officers who perform their duties properly. The supension of IAS officers is not new in the country. Senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka has been transferred 44 times due to his actions against corrupt people. In fact, Nagpal's suspension raises a big question on the state government's modus operandus and treatment with the officers. Since such suspensions are done regularly by the state governments for their personal interest, the Supreme Court should introduce strict guidelines to guard against this.Mohd Mudassir Alam  BiharLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business S

Letters: Transfer tactics

Assault on Muslim Brotherhood endangers the entire region

Egypt on the brink

StatsGuru: 29-July-2013

A price index for agri commodities: A Business Standard and Indicus Analytics initiative

Indicus Price Monitor

Every Monday, Business Standard analyses one family's finances and suggests a suitable way forward

Case study

Growth may need monetary stimulus, but will RBI look to rupee?

A rock and a hard place

Judging by the reaction of foreign investors in the US, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh's impact on them has been zero. The main problem is language. One of them was quoted as telling BJP leader Vijay Jolly (who arranged to take Rajnath Singh there): "The next time you bring someone out, make sure they can speak English." Who knows if the irony was lost on Singh after his latest anti-English tirade.

No English-Vinglish

As the government struggles to defend a steadily depreciating rupee, here is an anecdote about the 1991 devaluation. Then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh had gone to the UK to attend a meeting of the South Commission. When he returned he was adamant that he wanted to return the Â£500 or Â£600 he had received as an allowance. Officials were a little surprised but also a little irritated at his insistence. "Sir, it's ok to keep this amount of money in foreign currency with you," one of them said. Then Manmohan Singh explained why he wanted to return the money: "I don't want anyone to say that I bought this currency in the knowledge that there would be a devaluation," he explained.

Devalued surplus

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the Chief Guest at Assocham's 92nd Annual Session at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi earlier this month. Standard protocol requires invitees and journalists to be seated by 9.30 a m for the inaugural address at 10 a m. But heavy rains and the inevitable traffic jams meant many people could not make it on time and were denied entry. One celebrity editor with a leading daily, however, displayed the resourceful courage that informs his newspaper's front page and asked the security guards to let him in since he had to "introduce the PM on the stage". Of course, this was a trick to gain the entry but the guards didn't want to take any chances and let him in.

Beating the deadline

This refers to the report "Bhagwati versus Sen: What's going on?" (July 25). The recent debate (spat?) engaging two of India's esteemed economists on opposing sides on which strategy of economic growth India should pursue has dominated headlines. Sadly, the media coverage including media writings of Bhagwati and Sen have completely ignored the theoretical concepts of what causes economic growth. The neoclassical contribution to growth started with Solow (1956), got a big boost in the late eighties through endogenous growth theory (initially Arrow, later developed by Romer, Lucas). Needless to say, the growth theory has yet been unable to resolve quite a few empirical facts. Notwithstanding these limitations, none of the models could explain sustained economic growth only through accumulation of labour or capital - human capital (or, say,effectiveness of labour ) makes a significant difference in nations achieving sustained per capita growth. So why aren't I a card-carrying Sen follower

Letters: Why nations grow

This refers to Naresh Chandra Saxena's article, "A poor debate on poverty in India" (July 26). A Congress member of parliament (MP) has claimed it is possible to have a meal for Rs 12 in Mumbai. A single drumstick costs Rs 10 in the city. Another Congress leader says Rs 5 is enough for the same purpose in Delhi. The United Progressive Alliance government spent over Rs 28 lakh on a bash at the prime minister's residence in New Delhi to celebrate its third anniversary in 2012. According to a Right to Information disclosure, the cost of each dinner plate was Rs 7,700. The MP must have also been one of the distinguished diners. He should tell us why the government needed to spend so much money to celebrate three years of misrule when less expensive meals were available?A Seshan  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 addre

Letters: Cost of a meal

Apropos the editorial "Fearing MERS" (July 26), there are three types of disasters - natural, nuclear and biological. While each disaster needs its team of specialists, the army is necessary for "sequestering and containment operations". Recall how during the Surat plague, cars were allowed to leave towards Mumbai and Baroda. Only the army could have enforced a blockade. It may be noted that the most virulent form of variola major - the small pox virus, now preserved by the Russian FSB (old KGB) for germ warfare - was the India-67 strain. Obtained in 1967 from Bihar, this virus has a mortality rate, potency and longevity that beats all others. Surprisingly, we don't have any stock. Or do we?T R Ramaswami  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: Biological warfare

At a business awards function on Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party poll campaign chief and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi blamed the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for setting the rupee on a downward slide. Business Standard traces the path of the Indian currency from being on a par against the dollar at the time of independence to where it's today, the economic events that triggered these falls and the prime ministers who saw through these.

The fall & fall of the

Brand creation is one thing. Commodification is another. The digital media is full of stories about a new smartphone that is going to be launched, named after Narendra Modi. The website, smartnamo.com says a mobile phone will be launched in India ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 16,000. It will come in a variety of 1GB to 2GB memory coupled with 16-64 GB storage capacities. Each of these models will be powered by a 1.5 GHz MT6589 Turbo Chipset. The phone will have a rear 13MP camera. A picture is available for those who want to see it. The phone is dedicated to Narendra Modi and Next Generation Android Mobile Odyssey. It has been launched by people who say: "We are from land of Gujarat & in electronic smartphone business in China". The phone will obviously be made from Chinese components. The product is Modi fans' testament to their "dedication and respect for Mr Modi". The website also claims that they aren't "linked to Mr Modi in any other way". The spokesman of the company says t

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Too late for caution

Green shoots tracker

No daylight yet

Time out

Missing the forest

Raman's bumpy ride

Letters: IMF - The third alternative

Letters: Transfer tactics

Egypt on the brink

StatsGuru: 29-July-2013

Indicus Price Monitor

Case study

A rock and a hard place

No English-Vinglish

Devalued surplus

Beating the deadline

Letters: Why nations grow

Letters: Cost of a meal

Letters: Biological warfare

The fall & fall of the rupee