Azam Khan's immature response to US' questions

Exporting VIP culture

Business Standard

This refers to the report "Mukesh Ambani's 24x7 Z-security cover to cost him Rs 15 lakh a month" (April 23)

Letters: Securing Ambani

This refers to Shanthu Shantharam's letter "The value of new biology" (April 23). Michael Antoniou, Claire Robinson and John Fagan  have presented a detailed evidence-based examination of the claims for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified (GM) crops

Letters: Demystifying GM

This refers to Kanika Datta's column "Age-old problems" (April 25). Gerontocracy - the hallmark of totalitarian regimes in Communist Russia, China, Cuba or erstwhile Eastern Bloc and theocratic regimes in Iran, Saudi Arabia or Vatican - is inexplicable in a democratic country like India, especially when 65 per cent of our population is below 30 years of age

Letters: Perils of patriarchy

Though the employment scenario looks up in major metropolitan areas in the US, as it turns out, the places with the healthiest employment numbers aren't always the best for finding a job, according to human resources firm Adecco Staffing

Greener pastures

The scheduled T20 cricket match between Mumbai Heroes, the cricket team of actors of Hindi film industry led by Sunil Shetty, and the members of Parliament (MPs), is slowly becoming popular with the parliamentarians. Even as the cricket team of MPs is in place with veteran cricketers such as Mohammed Azharuddin, Kirti Azad and Navjot Sindhu as its members, MPs from different political parties are getting in touch with the Constitution Club to secure a place in the team. The desire to play cricket against film stars has even compelled MPs, who  are usually not interested in playing cricket, to try and find a place in the team. The match is scheduled to take place at the international stadium in Dharamshala on May 20. The film industry will be represented by Sohail Khan, Bobby Deol, Riteish Deshmukh, and Aftab Shivadasani. The MPs  team will be led by Anurag Thakur, a BJP MP and BCCI joint secretary.

MPs as cricket fans

On the day Mamata Banerjee and Amit Mitra were heckled outisde the Planning Commission office, what exactly happened was this: Mamata Banerjee walked into the office without any difficulty. But Mitra, who was following her, was left behind. Those who observed the entire episode said this was because Mitra was not used to wearing a dhuti, the Bengali national dress. In the melee, the dhuti got entangled in his legs or someone stepped on it. And, then the gates were closed before police realised Mitra was still outside Yojana Bhavan!

Amit Mitra's dhuti troubles

With every $1 impacting gross retail fuel under-recoveries by Rs 3,600-3,800 crore, India's macro aggregate run-rate has improved markedly since mid-February as Brent crude oil price slid 20 per cent to around $100/barrel. Analysts expect prices to trend higher in the second half of this financial year. Although the government gains from lower subsidies in a falling oil price environment, here is how falling oil prices will impact Indian companies:

Lower crude oil prices will hurt upstream players

How to control the economic impact of bird flu

A new strain

India must keep talking, while building more border roads

The road forward with China

The United Progressive Alliance government is in the habit of taking the moral high ground and blaming the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party for "obstructionist tactics" and stalling proceedings in Parliament. So it was interesting to see the tables turned in the second half of the opening day of the Budget session. The Treasury benches did everything to ensure that contentious issues that were bound to put the government on the back foot, such as the leak of the parliamentary report on 2G and the government's alleged interference in the investigative report on coal block allocations, did not get taken up for discussion. So when All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member V Maitreyan was permitted to move a motion for suspension of Question Hour on the role of the Central Bureau of Investigation in the coal scam and the voice vote (in favour and against the motion) was inconclusive, the chairman said the only option left was to put it to formal voting. In response, Parliamentary Af

Disruption by the clock

The Congress manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly polls scheduled for May 5 promises 20 per cent reservation for women in appointments to the police department. It is probably easier for the party to promise reservations in jobs than in distributing 20 per cent of party tickets to women. Less than 20 per cent of the candidates announced by the Congress are women.

Outsourcing gender diversity

The United Progressive Alliance government is under fire from so many sides that its ministers are resorting to making ironical jokes to cover for the lack of action. Thus, at a recent event in Mumbai, Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel was moved to remark that "these days everybody seems to have some or the other ideas on how to run the country, except for the people who run the country". It was an obvious barb at civil society organisations that have been highlighting the government's infirmities. During his speech, Patel also cracked several jokes  and then quickly recalled himself, saying, "I won't say anything controversial since a party colleague recently landed himself in a soup after his remarks." He was referring, of course, to Ajit Pawar's tasteless remarks about empty reservoirs in Maharashtra.

Irony in the soul

Apropos the editorial "Debate, don't disrupt" (April 23), the opposition parties disrupting the functioning of Parliament should realise that a large section of people - possibly including many industrialists - is eager to see Parliament function and complete its legislative agenda. With the prospects of a general election round the corner, this is perhaps the last opportunity for the ruling party to get the pending Bills passed during the term of the present Lok Sabha. If a general election is declared leaving these crucial laws unadopted, there is no certainty as to what will be their fate during the term of the next Lok Sabha. Moreover, no one can predict which coalition is going to come to power after the next elections. This uncertainty makes the business community as well as others feel that disrupting Parliament at this juncture will be a great tragedy for the nation. More than gaining any political mileage, the Bharatiya Janata Party and other opposition parties will bring upon

Letters: The business of Parliament

Narendra Modi's assertion that his victory as Gujarat's chief minister for the third time is "difficult to match" is to serve his ambition of reaching the top post. He is projecting his model of governance in Gujarat for the Centre. But can his model be applied "successfully" to other states, say, Tamil Nadu, which is a drought-hit state that depends on others even for drinking water? Still, Tamil Nadu's own model has helped the state achieve far better results in literacy, human development indices and health care as well as high gross domestic product growth and industrialisation. Can Modi promise to deliver that?Jacob Sahayam  ThiruvananthapuramLetters 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: Modi's model

This refers to Kanika Datta's column "Age-old problems" (Swot, April 25). One can't help but wonder if the solution to this problem is also the one that is age-old. In the olden times, wise Indian sages had laid down the "ashrama dharma" system, consisting of four phases of human life. While the first two (brahmacharya and gruhastha) are driven by worldly considerations, the predominant focus of the last two is to be away from the world. Vanaprastha is the time for gradually withdrawing from the physical world, and it should begin around the age of 50, if not earlier. Sanyasa is a total withdrawal from the world, and it should be the last phase beginning around the age of 60 years. How one wishes that people followed this system - especially those in public life so that younger people will be at the helm.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: letter

Letters: Four phases of public life

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has belittled the constitutional authority by remarking that the Comptroller and Auditor General "need not be taken that seriously" and is not infallible. Instead of taking note of the CAG finding that Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation is charging a higher price than any other power operator and thus taking remedial steps, the chief minister has shown intolerance. It's the CAG's job to find out lapses, if any, and bring them to the notice of the government. At the same time, it's the job of the opposition parties to seek clarifications on the observations. The chief minister is answerable to both.K V Seetharamaiah  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: Condemning CAG

Asset price inflation could be next bubble to burst: Nouriel Roubini

Ignoring a crisis

Too many projections, too little scenario building

Wishful thinking?

Social networking takes people to new highs, but it can also be the source of all-time lows if the Facebooker concerned is caught out in a scandal. This is what Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Kunal Ghosh discovered. Ghosh is allegedly involved in the Saradha chit fund fiasco via his role as group CEO of the Saradha group's media outfits. Ghosh had to delete his Facebook page yesterday after it was inundated with opprobrium across the board. This page used to be his platform for promoting his party and party leader Mamata Banerjee.

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