Apropos Devangshu Datta's column "FIIs climb the Wall of Worry" (Front Running, April 8), domestic institutional investors (DIIs) expect a definite return on their equity investment, failing which they could go for fixed-income securities. As the return on equities is not even compensating inflation, DIIs are withdrawing rapidly. However, foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who receive liquidity at a cheaper rate from their own country which has a nominal inflation rate, have no overriding expectations about the return. They only want their money to grow faster than what it was in their country. They had invested in India, hoping the economy will come out of the bottom. But when the bottom is still uncertain, how can they afford to stay on? Besides, it's time foreign direct investments make up for this losing trend. The myth that FIIs alone would drive the market should be overcome.R K Arya FaridabadLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru Hous

Letters: The FII myth

Business Standard

This refers to the editorial "Jobs, jobs, jobs" (April 7). Rahul Gandhi raised relevant issues at the CII-AGM meet, but without stressing on the possible solutions. Had he accepted the government's failure on different fronts and its lack of reforms and policy initiatives, Gandhi would have grown in stature in people's eyes. But that was not to be. Moreover, the timing of his address raises many eyebrows. Why has he woken up to becoming the blue-eyed boy of Indian companies now, when the current government is at the fag end of its tenure? It will now be interesting to see what he does next - will he make such interactions a regular affair or will he go back to his shell?Bal Govind  NoidaLetters 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 greenhorn politician

This refers to Ajai Shukla's column "MoD courts trouble" (Broadsword, April 2). It is unfortunate that the tight control by the ministry of defence (MoD) on the functioning of the well-intentioned Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has reduced considerably its effectiveness (in rendering quick and humane justice to the soldiers, sailors and airmen to resolve their grievances). Not only do they work under stressful and adverse conditions, but also their only source of earning is their legitimate pay. (The trickle-down "benefit" of "other sources of earning" is not available to them.) In bureaucracy, everyone from the minister to the peon has a share in the illicit money, but even when, unfortunately, the malady of corruption has affected the senior echelons of defence forces, the soldiers and their counterparts do not have a share in the pie. On the other hand, their woes increase if the bribe leads to purchase of substandard arsenal. Their grievances, thus, need to be addressed in a humane ma

Letters: In search of humane justice

Apropos the report "Another infrastructure project bites the dust" (April 9), Pongal is Tamil Nadu's harvest festival, and not the Tamil New Year. The Tamil New Year falls on April 14.M V Subramanian  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 Tamil New Year

Advice worth heeding

Although it aims to empower women, it may become a licence for other PSU banks to shirk from their responsibilities to women

Is the Mahila Bank a good idea?

It's good that trade unions are getting more inclusive

Not just for insiders

How do you define a "resident" of a country? The question becomes interesting in the context of Vijay Mallya's response to the Indian Express-International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reports that revealed that the liquor-to-airline baron had a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. His spokesman explained its presence as part of Mallya's global business interests, since he was a non-resident Indian (NRI).  Now, Mallya is also a member of the Rajya Sabha, eligibility for which requires him to be "ordinarily resident" in the state he represents. How can he be "ordinarily resident" if he is an NRI? It seems this qualification simply requires a person to be on the voters' list. Nor, it seems, is this novel. Recent examples of NRI parliamentarians are US-based Madhu Goud Yaskhi (Lok Sabha) and  Dubai-based Abdul Wahab (Rajya Sabha).

Resident questions

Sam Pitroda, currently advisor to the prime minister on public information infrastructure and innovations, has been a technocrat in and out of the government for so long that someone at the Confederation of Indian Industry's annual general meeting last week asked him whether he considered switching to politics. Maybe he was but his answer was unequivocal. "My wife is here. She will kill me," he laughingly replied.

Politically correct

Tax and intelligence agencies in India appear to have less faith in their own investigative powers. Some officials now want Indian journalists to do what the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is doing - investigative reporting to identify tax evaders. A tax department official said he heard from somebody that cash worth Rs 550 crore was transferred in an Innova after a land deal in Gurgaon last week, adding that the department could not take any action in the absence of any details but the media should do some meaningful journalism and expose such deals. He also came up with the old idea of banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from circulation, so that only those with white money come forward to get these notes replaced with smaller denomination notes of Rs 100 and Rs 50.

Proxy sleuthing over tax evasion

Apropos the report "Investment 'grey market' rapidly growing, says Sebi chief" (April 4), the government has reduced the commission rate of postal agents to almost half on the collection of funds from ordinary people under various schemes. These agents are inclined to move to a sector where the commission rate is better. They, in turn, lure their existing clients to invest in the "grey market". Moreover, people hesitate to put their money in fixed deposits beyond a certain level, since banks deduct tax on interest when the interest income is more than Rs 10,000 in a year. At the existing market interest rate, an investment of more than Rs 1,20,000 attracts TDS. But no such restriction is applicable on the "grey market" of investment. This can be controlled by changing government policy, so that people do not hesitate to put their money in post offices and banks.S K Sur  KolkataLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Mar

Letters: The fact behind grey market

Apropos the editorial "Better than nothing" (April 8), sugar constitutes a small proportion of a family's budget. Hence, if sugar is removed from the public distribution system, it will not have any significant impact on the consumption pattern of people, including the poor. By providing a subsidy on sugar, the government is not enhancing the economic capacity of people to any large extent. Hence, the next big reform required in the sector is to remove sugar from PDS altogether. This will also eliminate the need for the state governments to procure sugar from the open market.P V Rajeev  New DelhiLetters 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: Sugar reforms

In the light of the prevailing food inflation, there is a strong reason to analyse the real difference between the wholesale price index (WPI) and the consumer price index (CPI) percentages. The CPI is much above the WPI. This means that retailers' profit margins are adding to food inflation at the consumer level. Unfortunately, there is no law - and there cannot be such a law - to control the percentage of profit that businesses can earn. A repo rate cut will also not help reduce the gap.Anand Wadadekar  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: Controlling profit margin

This refers to the editorial "Mr Modi's bumpy road" (April 4). Compared to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi, thanks to the 2002 anti-Muslim riots though, appears to be an anathema to potential allies, such as the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh. At present, he is seen as one of the most divisive figures in Indian politics. Influential sections of the media and the civil society are arraigned against him. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lacks a base in southern and eastern India to even come close to forming a government on its own, which means it has to build a coalition. Modi's major problem in Bihar is that the solid alliance between the BJP and the Janata Dal (United) will fall apart mainly owing to Nitish Kumar's animosity towards Modi. The National Democratic Alliance leadership may ultimately choose Kumar over hardliner Modi as its consensus candidate for the top post. The former has an unblemished record as

Letters: Choose Kumar over Modi

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

Indicus price monitor

Indian pharma is high on profit, low on R&D

StatsGuru: 8-April-2013

Business Standard brings to you a snapshot of average current rates and unit sizes in localities that offer property in a price range of Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore. If you are looking at buying real estate and your budget falls within this range, an idea about prevailing rates would come in handy

Realty check

But sugar decontrol doesn't go far enough

Better than nothing

Rahul Gandhi should have talked investment

Jobs, jobs, jobs

Are smokers always charged extra for life insurance?No, there are chances life insurers may not charge an extra premium to smokers. That depends on how frequently one smokes. For instance, if you smoke less than three cigarettes a week, you may not be charged extra premium. Most life insurers have separate premium rates for smokers, which are 20-30 per cent more than the non-smokers.What happens if one does not smoke for a few days before the medical test? You will be made to undergo a test to identify the amount of nicotine intake over the past four-five days. You may stop smoking for a week and may pass the medical test as a non-smoker, get a good premium. However, if you die and smoking is anywhere linked to it, the insurer will not pay the claim against your policy. Hence, extra premium shouldn't be a reason to not disclose your smoking habit.

Tipping point

Digital consumerism is impacting the way companies use technology

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