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Case study

Business Standard

The current debate on who would be the next prime minister reminds me of the proverb "soot na kapas aur julahon me lattham lattha" (There is neither cotton thread nor cotton ball, but the weavers are fighting among themselves). In the case of an election that gives a fragmented verdict, one may think of even a dark horse as a compromise candidate as it was the case with Deve Gowda. Manmohan Singh said unwittingly in the course of a debate in Parliament a few months ago that L K Advani had to wait for 2014 to become the prime minister. Perhaps, he thought he was being sarcastic, but that meant the Bharatiya Janata Party would come to power after the next election! The public controversy between two office-bearers of the Congress on the bipolarity in the Centre of power testifies to the poor state of discipline in the party. It is indeed a matter of concern that the prime minister's authority has been undercut right from the first day when he occupied the post nine years ago. A majority

Letters: Who's next?

Apropos the report "FCRA Bill may be tabled in House today" (March 21), this is to clarify that the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) is not the regulator of spot exchanges. As a matter of fact, there is no law providing for the regulation of spot exchanges. The Department of Consumer Affairs under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has nominated FMC as the designated agency for observing the adherence to stipulated terms and conditions by the three spot exchanges, to which an exemption has been granted for trading in one-day duration forward contracts under Section 27 of the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952. For this purpose, these spot exchanges furnish weekly and fortnightly reports relating to the trade data to FMC. Recently, one of the spot exchanges was asked by FMC to remove misleading information from its website, in which it mentioned that FMC was one of the regulators for the exchange.P Chalapati RaoDeputy DirectorForward Markets CommissionL

Letters: FMC's role

This refers to T N Ninan's column "Two to clap" (Weekend Ruminations, April 6). It does not serve a useful purpose to bundle all businessmen into one term "business", treating it as a homogeneous entity. It is futile to expect "business" to introspect and mend its ways. The government in the old days of single-party rule, could be reasonably expected to work as a homogeneous entity. However, today,  coalition compulsions, as also a serious paucity of statesman-like leaders across the political spectrum, is hampering an integrated and purposive course of action on the part of the government. So, we seem to be destined to put up with "business as usual" where "business" stands for all that it should not be, whether we like it or not.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) 23720201  Â·  E-mail: letters@bsmail.inAll letters must have a postal address and telephone numbe

Letters: Business as usual

A common sight at industry events is India Inc's captains, save Rahul Bajaj and a handful of others, dressed in dark suits. The annual general meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry wasn't much different, except that at the crumbling Ashok Hotel in Lutyens' Delhi, the air-conditioning could barely keep up with the crowds clamouring for a view of the rich and powerful. Invitation cards casually turned into hand fans and, under the arclight, Industry Minister Anand Sharma, also in a suit, was forced to dab his sweaty brow more than once. It was simply the stuffy room, it is hoped, not the worries of kick-starting a growth engine that is running out of fuel.

Suited and sweating

One would expect that the Planning Commission these days is a busy place given the difficulties that the economy is currently facing and the bevy of schemes that will be either lined up, launched or scaled up in the run-up to the elections next year. That, however, hasn't stopped Planning Commission member Arun Maira, a favourite with the industry chambers, from speaking at the recently concluded Confederation of Indian Industry's annual general meeting not once, but twice. On consecutive days, Maira was at the meetings, holding forth at two different sessions, even when his name wasn't on the initial programme circulated by the chamber.

Omnipresent member

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi spoke at the recently concluded Confederation of Indian Industry's annual general meeting, leaving some impressed and others not so much. Former Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Dinesh Trivedi (pictured), who was pressured into resigning after he presented a reform-minded Railway Budget, was purportedly a member of the first camp. His party may not be in alliance with the Congress any more, but Trivedi was overheard saying how he agreed with Gandhi's call for inclusive growth and a focus on strengthening grass-root politics, at a time when the Trinamool Congress itself is fumbling in West Bengal with populist-minded politics. Trinamool, incidentally, means 'grass roots' in Bengali.

Grass-root politics

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

IPL's poor management is showing in its finances and its quality

Indian Problem League?

Despite a particularly fruitful week in February, when five deals collectively worth more than $91 billion were announced, the business of mergers and acquisitions remains largely stuck in the doldrums

Mergers slowed to a snail's pace

FY13 is expected to end with a stronger than estimated loan growth of 15.5 per cent

Dissecting loan growth

A recent lunch get-together of all regulators of the Government of India saw them swapping notes about their job. The common problem: the government doesn't want them to regulate! The legislation to enhance the powers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief is being watched eagerly to figure out if other regulators can also persuade the government to get quasi-judicial powers.

Real power

Who's going to be appointed the next Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)? A new name that's joined the list of former Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar and Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma is that of former Sports and Youth Affairs Secretary Sindhushree Khullar. Khullar was appointed secretary, Planning Commission on a two-year contract after she retired in March this year. If she gets the job, she will be the first woman CAG of India. Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth could have got the job but the prime minister is keen to keep him on as cabinet secretary till elections in May next year.

A woman's first time

Who says A K Antony never says anything? At a recent party meeting in Ernakulam, Kerala, Antony scolded Congressmen roundly for airing their views about each other - none too complimentary - openly. He said they were crossing limits and warned that if partymen did not observe self-demarcated "lakshman rekha", it could lead to self-destruction. "Various factions are airing their views openly, and sometimes it was crossing limits. If there are differences of opinion, air it out in the party. Such tendencies are akin to chopping off the branch on which you are sitting," he told party workers. And this is just one year ahead of the general elections.

Within limits

Indian companies going for abroad investments have largely used either their locally incorporated overseas subsidiaries or have set up holding companies and/or special purpose vehicles (SPVs) in offshore financial centres or other regional financial centres.In 2005, Indian companies were allowed to float SPVs in international capital markets to finance acquisitions abroad, facilitating the use of leveraged buyouts. Since then, SPVs set up in off-shore financial centres, such as, Mauritius, Singapore and the Netherlands, have been mainly used as conduits to mobilise funds and invest in third countries, keeping in view the business and legal consideration, taxation advantages and easier access to financial resources in those countries.

Indian companies' foreign investments (Outward FDI)

Raising concern over the widening current account deficit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the country would ensure foreign inflows in the next two years to fund the gap, rather than using foreign exchange reserves. While India's forex reserves came down in the previous two financial years, after touching a high of $304 billion in 2010-11, the Reserve Bank of India had earlier hinted it would be cautious in using the reserves to contain the volatile rupee. Data also show portfolio inflows dominated in the last few years rather than foreign direct investment, highlighting the need for policies to encourage flows of a durable nature.

Durable inflows need of the hour

Centre will bear the subsidy but for two years and up to Rs 32 a kg: K V Thomas

Rahul Gandhi's speech had repercussions of sorts a few kilometres away at the Hero Mindmine Summit 2013, the topic for which was "Today's India: Economics or Politics?". The keynote speaker at the summit was Praful Patel, who said Gandhi's address would answer the question posed by the topic in the future. To which session moderator Sunil Kant Munjal sceptically countered: "Will it really make an impact?" Patel then beat a retreat saying he was only being politically correct. The sub-text: his Nationalist Congress Party is a key ally of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance after all, and elections aren't that far away.

Telling support

Pity Rahul Gandhi. Like Hamlet, he has difficulty shaking off his father's ghost, a fact that was embarrassingly in evidence at the plenary session of the Confederation of Indian Industry's annual general meeting (CII AGM) in Delhi. A senior functionary who welcomed him as a special guest inadvertently referred to him as Rajiv Gandhi, which set the audience laughing. But less than an hour later, when the junior Gandhi ended his speech Infosys' Kris Gopalakrishnan thanked Rajiv Gandhi for attending the CII AGM, and he continued his vote of thanks without realising his mistake.

Business Standard

Business Standard

Page 748 - Business Standard

Case study

Letters: Who's next?

Letters: FMC's role

Letters: Business as usual

Suited and sweating

Omnipresent member

Grass-root politics

Tipping point

Indian Problem League?

Mergers slowed to a snail's pace

Dissecting loan growth

Real power

A woman's first time

Within limits

Indian companies' foreign investments (Outward FDI)

Durable inflows need of the hour

Centre will bear the subsidy but for two years and up to Rs 32 a kg: K V Thomas

Telling support

Senior moments

Take off this cap