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Should the insurer know if CNG/LPG kit is installed in a car?Yes, the owner of an insured vehicle needs to inform the insurance company and make a declaration to the company with a copy of the registration certificate, which will have to be obtained from the Regional Transport Office.Will this impact the car insurance premium?Yes, this will attract some additional premium on the motor policy for the ongoing year as well. An extra premium of about four-five per cent (of the kit's value) will have to be paid towards the car policy. Cost of a CNG/LPG kit ranges between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000.

Tipping point

Finance Minister P Chidambaram is good at talking up the markets, but recently it proved counterproductive. After the rupee hit a new low earlier this week, Chidambaram met his senior officials to discuss the issue. By the evening, the finance ministry had sent out an invitation for a press conference by him the next day (June 13) at 10 a m. From the media to the markets, everybody assumed that the conference was called to make some announcements on the rupee. Since this did not happen, the rupee only fell further.

Fall guy

It is not unusual in West Bengal to refer to government employees as "sarkari jamais" or sons-in-law of the government. True to the spirit of these sinecure offices, the West Bengal government on Friday decided to gift its jamais a half-day holiday - through a "priority notice" on its website, no less - on the occasion of Jamai Sasthi, the Bengali festival dedicated to sons-in-law. That left no one in doubt that these sons-in-law are more pampered than non-government ones.

Bengal's sons-in-law

What's the connection between Christopher Columbus and Indian oil companies? According to Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M Veerappa Moily, it's to do with global acquisitions. Asked whether he wanted all Indian private and public companies to form a joint venture for acquisitions across the world, Moily said, "There can only be one Columbus. Similarly, there can only be one Columbus among the oil companies that can land in a country for the first time. Whether it is ONGC, Oil India or any private major, I cannot name all of them Columbuses or ask them to be the same."

The Columbus factor

Apropos Devangshu Datta's column "The axioms of dynastic democracy" (Viewpoint, June 15), the author argues that dynastic rule with regular reviews is more likely to deliver good governance than non-dynastic rule. In India, we seem to be currently having the worst of both the worlds, as it were. We have a dynasty member (or is it two of them?) ruling the country; but instead of being subjected to reviews, others are put up as human shields to answer questions.Kishor Kulkarni  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: The great Indian dynasty

A Tamil proverb refers to the pot breaking when the butter is being formed. At a time when the nation is well tuned to a change of the government, the Janata Dal (United), JD (U) is raising issues on its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that can wait for the election to be over. During a debate in Parliament, Manmohan Singh sarcastically said Advani would have to wait till 2014 to become the prime minister, thus indirectly admitting the BJP's victory. The BJP has announced Narendra Modi as the head of its election panel, not as its prime ministerial candidate. It will be helpful if the BJP says the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will decide the prime minister after the election, if it comes to power. Victory at the polls and a chance to form the government may change attitudes, including the possibility of the JD (U) supporting an NDA government from outside without insisting on it being included therein. The JD (U) on its part should stop its campaign against Modi, a

Letters: Congress can help BJP

Apropos the report "Govt interviews 2 candidates for SBI managing director post" (June 14), the selection of the State Bank of India (SBI) chairman always has a big impact. In this context, it is interesting to note that SBI is revamping its credit approval process to reduce bad loans. If both these exercises are used to learn the lessons of over-optimism in regard to market growth, margins and timeliness of getting necessary approvals, as also the promoters' capability and intentions, then there would be hope for the future. In particular, SBI should look at the role of SBI Caps, who might have been investment bankers for some of the loans that have now turned dicey. Managers in charge at SBI Caps must be evaluated on the outcome of the projects they got the bank to finance and not just on fees earned or league table standing. This is a matter of serious conflict of interest that needs to be addressed.P Datta  KolkataLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business Sta

Letters: SBI & conflict of interest

Not too long ago, Brazil was a hot investment destination. Now, however, the Brazilian stock market has entered abear phase. And, it's not the only developing economy with a stock market that is going through a slump

Bloodbath in emerging markets

Last month, merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in India fell 21% to $1.3 billion, through 42 transactions. The value of M&A deals in the January-May period stood at just $7.53 billion, down 66 per cent from $22.03 billion during the year-ago period

Cutback in deals

Did anyone notice the sharpness with which Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has been reacting to suggestions that L K Advani has as much claim to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership as Narendra Modi? Well, the reason is not far to seek. A few weeks ago, Advani supposedly praised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the skies, and suggested Modi had got a state that was already well developed, but it was Chouhan who had had a much more difficult task of developing a less developed state. He also named Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh. But guess what? He forgot to name the other BJP-ruled state, namely Goa. One reason could be that in 2009, Parrikar had likened Advani with a "pickle gone rancid". And Advani responded by not naming him at all. In Goa, Parrikar then replied by saying, "Those above 65 should consider retiring from the party and all its positions."

A battle of words

Music business should be more worried as CD stores shut

The wrong tune

Inflationary pressure softening: leeway to RBI for a rate cut

How much has core inflation really fallen?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce its mid-quarter review of monetary policy on June 17 amid a weakening rupee on one hand and falling headline inflation on the other. Here are factors that Subbarao will take into account for the policy decision:

Which set of numbers will determine Subbarao's stance on Monday

The message from Taksim Square: religion and politics don't mix well

Turkish treatment

Govt errs in focusing only on financing current account deficit

After the stimulus phase-out

This refers to A Seshan's letter "KSK: Gentleman-economist" (June 11). I was working with State Bank of Mysore, Dalal Street branch, Mumbai in 1976-79 when K S Krishnaswamy was the RBI deputy governor. His salary account was with our bank. I was asked to reconcile our accounts with the RBI that was in arrears for more than a year. During the course of verification, I found that we had not responded to credits received on the deputy governor's salary account. When I checked his savings bank account, I found that the salary amount had been credited by debiting his salary account under the expenditure head of our bank. In a couple of months, the salary had been paid again by responding to credits given by the RBI. The balance, however, had not been drawn, but we needed his consent to reverse the credits. That was the only occasion when I went to his office, seeking a letter. I expected to wait outside as I was a very junior officer. But the deputy governor called me in, and while handing

Letters: Remembering KSK

This refers to Subir Gokarn's column "When role models fail" (Muddy Waters, June 2). In the mid-1940s, India saw a number of selfless heroes. Subhas Chandra Bose, who cleared the Indian Civil Service examinations, did not accept the plum post and lead a "comfortable" life. Instead, he joined mainstream politics, became His Majesty's enemy and gave his life for the freedom of the country.For over three decades, I had the good fortune of working in a leading company in Jamshedpur, where I distinctly remember one senior executive of exemplary character. Despite being entitled to all privileges, he adopted a clean and transparent way of functioning. When his family members visited him and took his car for their personal use, he would not ask the transport department to provide him with a spare car. He would rather travel with his colleagues to return home after the day's work. On tours to other cities, he would pay for the meals he hosted for his friends and relatives. He would even pay fo

Letters: Role models

Indians are now used to Chinese goods figuring in almost every sphere of their life. How pervasive can be seen in fruit shops all over south India, which are now stocked with Chinese apples. The apples are imported by Indian companies based in Chennai from the Shengdong export zone in China and then distributed to south Indian cities. The question now is with Chinese selling their apples at rates far cheaper than India's Himachal apples, what will happen to Himachal's farmers?

China: Apple of India's eye

Thanks to a sustained rise in food inflation over the past two years, vegetables have become something akin to precious commodities. So valuable, in fact, that a gifting firm in Bangalore has deemed it appropriate to consider it an option for its clients. So, instead of the usual chocolates and wines, this company's clients are now being given baskets of fresh vegetables.

Vegetables get a new status

When Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke to L K Advani much before the National Executive meet in Goa, the senior pracharak had no inkling of what the senior most Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had in mind. On the first day of the meet, when some senior leaders were boarding the aircraft of a private airline, they were surprised to discover that the seat booked for Advani was empty. On reaching Goa, all BJP leaders were given rooms on the third floor of a five-star hotel. They were surprised again to discover that Advani's room had not been occupied. "L K Advani might have been genuinely unwell, and that's why he didn't come to the National Executive meet. But the message that has gone out is that he was upset with the elevation of Narendra Modi. A private jet was on hold to bring him to Goa," said a senior BJP leader.

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