The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is annoyed with the Congress after the Rajasthan government recently demanded affidavits from athletes, asking them to certify that they are not members of the RSS, before they could be given awards. The sports department of the state government had demanded similar affidavits from more than 300 athletes, who collectively received Rs 2.26 crore as cash rewards.

Politics of sports

Business Standard

Apropos Kanika Datta's column "Incredibly unsafe" (Swot, April 11), the writer has forcefully brought out why India's tourism is suffering in drawing foreign tourists, despite its superior places of attractions. Even the average Indian travelling to other parts of the country undergoes many unsavoury experiences - enough to deter him/her to travel unless unavoidable. To confirm this, one may add two more questions to the list realistically suggested (and presented tactfully) by the writer to gauge any tourist's experience - how often did the taxi or auto driver take you to your destination via the right route, and without charging extra? If you forgot something in the hotel, did you get it back in a good condition (if you got it at all), even if you made a complaint within 24 hours? Also, improvements in our infrastructure have not matched the behaviour of our people. From the porter at the railway station or the airport to the taxi driver, the hotel staff or the guide at any tourist p

Letters: Misbehaving with tourists

This refers to the editorial "A worrying precedent" (April 5). The reason for seeking a power tariff revision was the ostensible plea that imported coal prices have gone up. Consider this: Australian coal prices have fallen by 24 per cent - from $111.5 a tonne a year ago to $91.65 a tonne now. Indonesian coal prices have fallen from $94.75 a tonne to $72.25 a tonne in the same period - a 23 per cent fall. The reason for the decline in coal prices in Australia and Indonesia are attributed to poor demand from China and India and their improved supply positions. In this light, it's intriguing if there's an actual reason for the power tariff revision. The sanctity of long-term power purchase agreements is meaningless, if tariffs are revised without valid reasons. Going by analytical realism, it seems there is no realisation on the part of policy makers that reduced coal prices should be translated into lower power tariffs. This should also put Coal India Ltd on notice that it cannot exploi

Letters: Power relations

This refers to the editorial "A missed opportunity?" (April 15). With the implementation of banking sector reforms, hiring in banks has been declining. The attrition rate has especially increased in public sector banks (PSBs). To get rid of the earlier legacy of handling union-related issues, the banking system opted for voluntary retirement schemes, and laid off huge chunks of experienced bankers. They not only lost manpower, but their technology was not developed to compete with fast and aggressive new banks. PSBs today do not attract the best of human resources from the market because of several inhibiting factors, such as poor salary structure. Also, the training system is virtually absent in relation to market expectations. KYC norms have taken away the human touch, and banks are only concerned with the "required documents", bringing more risk to the business.T V Gopalakrishnan  BangaloreLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadu

Letters: Issues in PSU banks

Aon Benfield , a division of Aon Plc, estimates that global reinsurer capital totalled $505 billion at December 31, 2012, an increase of 11 per cent relative to December 31, 2011.This calculation, by Aon Benfield, which is one of the world's leading reinsurance intermediary and full-service capital advisor, is a broad measure of capital available for insurers to trade risk with and includes both traditional and non-traditional forms of reinsurer capital.

Re-insurers beef up capital, after a year of catastrophe loss

Congress can't follow Nitish Kumar's lead

Talk about governance

Public sector banks must take advantage of retirements

A missed opportunity?

After Narendra Modi's address to Kolkata's business community, city industrialists lined up to shower lavish praise on the Gujarat chief minister. Amritanshu Khaitan was among them, but as executive director of Eveready, he had his share of concerns, too. Addressing journalists at the launch of the company's range of rechargeable fans and lamps a day after Modi's speech, he pointed out that the products would hardly have a market in Gujarat. "Mr Modi said there is hardly any power cut in his state. Certainly, Gujarat is not going to be a good market for us," he said.

Modi power

Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh is generally considered the United Progressive Alliance government's one of the more media-friendly ministers. So imagine everyone's surprise when he expressed an aversion to journalists at a recent academic meet at Anand, Gujarat. After the event, Ramesh was approached by a boy aged around 12 years for an autograph, which he willingly gave. When the boy sought his blessings, Ramesh told him, "Don't be a journalist." Asked why, by an indignant journalist, he said, only half-jokingly, "Aap log bahut jaan khate ho!" (You people pester a lot!).

Media phobia

India is always proud of its democracy versus China's authoritarian government. But NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury envies the latter for the simplicity of its governance, if nothing else. At a recent inter-governmental meeting power, the chairman of a Chinese power major bluntly told him, "Without being a democracy, we discuss our company matters with our party and once it is cleared, there is no looking back. But for your country, the problem is you discuss, discuss and keep on discussing, rather than implementing it." Foreign criticism is always irritating but Choudhury acknowledged that his Chinese counterpart's taunt was "worth listening to".

Talking democracy

Even a year before the general elections, the spokespersons of the two major parties of the country have started exchanging abuses. To senior citizens, who have seen elections during the era of Nehru, Patel, Rajaji, Azad and Jayaprakash Narayan, this is not in good taste. I remember Nehru addressing a public meeting on Marina Beach in the then Madras in the 1950s, when he criticised the local Dravidian party for demanding an independent Dravida Nadu. The only strong word that he used was to call it "tribal". It was interpreted as the pejorative "kattumirandi" ("uncivilised person", or "junglee" in Hindi) by Tamil newspapers - though the translation was inappropriate. The moment he uttered the word, Rajaji, who was seated on the dais, got up and whispered something in Nehru's ears. Afterwards, Nehru's speech was more moderate. We do not have such refined politicians with aÂ restraining influence today.A Congress spokesperson has compared Narendra Modi to Yamraj riding a buffalo. Will he

Letters: Abusive campaigns

Apropos Shubha Srinivasan's article "Working women in India and Bharat" (April 12), differences between rural and urban women may not actually exist. Even in a typical urban household, cooking, home maintenance and child rearing are the responsibilities of the woman. However, some relief comes by way of gadgets, and servants to assist her. But, in addition to the household chores, the daily commute to work and its own travails force the woman to constantly practise time and work management. While the author acknowledges that her economic freedom and future prosperity compensate her daily sufferings, the emotional price she pays for the well-being of her family members is not brought out, giving the impression that the city-bred women are better placed.P EsakkiMuthu  ChennaiLetters 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 t

Letters: Paying an emotional price

This refers to the report "FSLRC for financial law review every 3 years" (April 1). The central government's decision to bring about a unified approach in regulating the country's financial sector is apt. This will obviate the loopholes in the system that a few organisations take advantage of for their personal benefit. In fact, there should be complete cohesiveness between the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority. A simple comprehensive law and a solo regulator are needed to prevent siphoning off funds under dubious methods, such as money-laundering.S R Murdeshwar  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: A solo financial regulator

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

Case study

THE SUGAR industry has been partially decontrolled, which means greater play for market factors. As Table 1 shows, the sector is capable of responding to price signals. The area under cultivation has fluctuated over five years; by 2011-12, it had returned to where it was in 2006-07. Table 2 shows that, in the meantime, the statutory minimum/fair and remunerative price for sugarcane, set by the government, has steadily increased, especially under the United Progressive Alliance. It has gone up particularly steeply of late, in response to the perceived fall in returns that led to a decrease in total area under cultivation, seen in Table 1. Several states have seen particularly high increases in their cane prices, set by state governments, in the past two years, as listed in Table 3. Uttar Pradesh, which has gone through a poll campaign in the period, stands out. Karnataka, Bihar and Maharashtra have also seen big increases. Perhaps that's why, as Table 4 shows, they have particularly lar

StatsGuru-15-April-13

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

Indicus price monitor

Everybody likes to take a dig at US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's quantitative easing, better known as QE. Recently, an Indian economist while talking to some commodity traders in Ahmedabad gave them a tip. "This is the right time to invest in the lumber business," he said. "The way Ben is printing money, there will hardly be any forests left," he added.

Ben's QE harvest

Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, an MLA from Malda who recently switched loyalties to the Trinamool Congress from the Congress and was awarded with tourism ministry by Mamata Banerjee has created quite an uproar in Writers' Buildings, the state secretariat in Kolkata. Though unsure of the consequences, his Cabinet colleagues and other officers unanimously describe it as "a daring act". Choudhury's department has come out with a "Subho Nababarsha" (Bengali New Year) greeting card that stands out because it has neither a photograph nor a mention of Banerjee. People in the know point out never before in the last two years has there been any government banner, advertisement, greeting or invitation card without a mention of the chief minister. Will this have any bearing on the tourism minister's future? Bureaucrats, at least, give Choudhury the benefit of the doubt on account of his lack of experience in Banerjee's Cabinet.

Out of the picture

Disappointing Infosys

IIP shows how difficult an industrial recovery will be

Stable but critical

If a driver didn't have his licence in his possession at the time of an accident, will his claim be honoured?Yes, provided the driver is able to produce a valid licence at the time of filing a claim. However, the claims can be denied if the driver is known to be carrying an inappropriate licence (two-wheeler licence for a four-wheeler) or an expired one.What if the licence is being renewed at the time of the accident?The driver will have to produce a receipt or statement from the Regional Transport Office that the licence is in the process of renewal. If such a statement is produced at the time of filing the claim, it can be honoured.

Business Standard

Business Standard

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