The whole world may be excited and applauding Indias move to allow compulsory licensing on expensive anti-cancer drugs, bringing down their prices significantly, but those in government considering more such approvals already appear to be bored with the whole issue. Discussing three more drugs under consideration for compulsory licensing, an official in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion said, I am quite bored of talking about compulsory licensing now. I feel like a priest at a wedding ceremony chanting the same mantras again and again. It is for the companies to feel excited about it, he added, and not the government.

The drug mantra

Business Standard

Maybe the Banjara tribals know something sophisticated political analysts dont. For the past few years, the community has been lobbying for an all-India Scheduled Tribe (ST) label. Currently, their status varies from state to state: they are STs in Andhra, for instance, but Scheduled Caste (SC) in Karnataka, Delhi and Punjab. The ST status, apparently, gives them greater state-sponsored benefits than an SC one, hence the demand. Recently, Banjara community leaders took their demands to 10, Janpath. But not to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Their appointment was with newly crowned Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. The Gandhi scion reportedly assured them of all help and stated that the Congress was with all tribals, backwards and Dalits.  This although Gandhi holds no government portfolio. Maybe they see this as an assurance from a future prime minister?

Forward trading

Apropos the report Rangarajan likely to act as referee (March 27), setting up a new committee to resolve the dispute between the finance and the petroleum ministries over the proposal to price auto fuel at export parity rather than import parity will amount to procrastination. Traditionally, the Cabinet secretary resolved issues pertaining to a difference of opinion between two ministries. It was quick and had to be immediately implemented. In the case of a committee, once the report is submitted, its acceptability becomes another issue. The Cabinet secretary is the senior most civil servant, and the civil service has always obeyed him. Why can the Cabinet secretary not decide in this case? Once this tradition of dispute resolution by the Cabinet secretary is broken, there will be a committee on every issue of difference. Differences between the commerce and the finance ministries are common, and a committee to resolve their issues may be next. This is a retrograde trend from an admini

Letters: Redundancy of committees

This refers to the editorial The Cyprus conundrum (March 27). It is clear that all assurances about the safety of savings are flimsy. The question that now arises is how the island is going to pay back its huge remaining debt if one of its economic mainstays, financial services, is severely curtailed, and small businesses with legitimate deposits in Cyprus banks go to the wall. Economists like Paul Krugman feel that Cyprus should quit the euro because staying in the euro means an incredibly severe depression, which will last for many years, while Cyprus tries to build a new export sector. Leaving the euro, and letting the new currency fall sharply, would greatly accelerate that rebuilding. The crisis has shown  if any proof was needed  that far from restoring trust in the banking system, Cyprus has broken a taboo  by making it clear that euro zone leaders do not see small savers cash as sacrosanct.M M Gurbaxani BangaloreLetters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business S

Letters: A tale of a troubled island

Apropos the report BRICS to set up development bank parallel to World Bank (March 27), the summit has tried to portray a lofty picture whereby the five developing nations could pool their resources in the interest of every other country. India has been the victim of inadequate infrastructure, trade and investment in the normal process. But the country possesses the educated manpower and agricultural produce, which is not potentially utilised and could be exchanged with the other nations in terms of the other commodities. At every stage, the principle of substitution is likely to work efficiently in the formation of a conglomerate. Even funding projects could be possible if the nations become specific about their needs to augment finance and trade.R K Arya  FaridabadLetters 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

Letters: BRICS - Helping each other

At the beginning of this financial year, if you had picked the best-performing stock in the BSE 100, you would have more-than-tripled your investment (United Spirits rose 211.06 per cent). Had you picked the worst-performing one, you would have lost about half your money (Reliance Power fell 49.4 per cent)|2012-13 saw the highest FII flows, while the Sensex recorded a lacklustre performance. While FIIs poured in Rs 1.39 lakh crore, the Sensex returned 7.47 per cent (less than the average fixed deposit returns)|The Sensex rose from 17,404.2 at the beginning of the financial year to 18,704.53 on Tuesday, a rise of 1,300.33 points|The mid-cap and small-cap indices fell 4.61 per cent and 13.58 per cent, respectively|The FMCG, health care and IT indices were the best-performing ones, rising between 10 per cent and 32 per cent|The S&P BSE Metal index fell 24.83 per cent, while the S&P BSE Power index fell 22.06 per cent and the index tracking capital goods fell 11.99 per cent

FY13 - A year of extremes

It's business as usual for the three schools at the top of the 2013 Best Undergraduate Business Schools ranking. Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business retains the top spot for the fourth year in a row, the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce holds the second spot for the fourth consecutive year, and Cornell's Dyson School of Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management is again No. 3. But as the following table reveals, there is a good deal of fluctuation in the ranks beyond the top three

Notre Dame takes top spot once again

The breakneck rise of developed world stock markets this year is probably over, but major emerging markets will rally strongly from here after a poor start, according to a latest Reuters poll of 450 stock market strategists and fund managers from around the globe. Since the start of the year, many of the worlds's top stock markets have hit their highest levels since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008.  The US S&P 500 index came close to an all-time high in mid-March. But in many cases, the barnstorming rally bore no relation to economic performance and instead reflected the swathes of central bank cash flowing through the financial system. US federal spending cuts, plus the threat that the Euro zone's debt crisis might flare up again, will slow the rally for most major Western indexes. Emerging markets, which have struggled so far this year, will then pick up the baton

Emerging markets set to keep stock rallying in 2013

The central message of the recent Supreme Court verdict on the Bombay blasts is that the law is the same for all citizens - a timely recognition of its supremacy. The chorus of voices suggesting that Sanjay Dutt should be pardoned are ill-advised. Justice Markandey Katju's statement that he has been found guilty only of illegal possession of weapons under the arms Act, and that he has "suffered a lot and had to undergo various tribulations and indignities", merits rejection. What about the victims? The nightmarish fear of the fate of ~250 crore invested in his films, currently in various stages of making, rather than any humanitarian consideration, is behind Bollywood's orchestrated support for clemency to Dutt. Former Maharashtra Police boss Y P Singh has pointed out that his father Sunil Dutt, a Congress member of Parliament, had used his clout to influence the Central Bureau of Investigation to switch charges against him from the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act

Letters: Upholding the legal system

The Sanjay Dutt case needs to be set in context for a better understanding. The Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992. Instantly, communal riots broke out and lasted for two full months in Mumbai. Hindutva outfits like the Shiv Sena targeted the Muslims and killed them in large numbers. As residents of the metropolis, the Dutts were protecting as many Muslims as they could from the mob. Infuriated, the mob threatened Sunil Dutt that it would kidnap and rape his daughters. Left defenceless, the 33-year-old Sanjay Dutt acquired weapons for his family's defence and honour. In the apex court's own findings, the weapons were acquired for self-defence, and not for any terrorist activity. Dutt had nothing to do with the bomb blasts that occurred on March 12, 1993. A man cannot be punished for wanting to protect his family members in a vulnerable position. Dutt does not deserve to be locked up for what he did. The very same people who created the circumstances for Dutt to acquire the

Letters: A case for pardon

Apropos the editorial "Time to go" (March 25), it is better to go when the going is good. People should ask why instead of why not. Sachin Tendulkar's contributions to Indian cricket are surely immense, and in view of his consistently fading form, which is natural because of the ageing process, the time has come for him to bid goodbye graciously.Srinivasan Umashankar,  NagpurLetters 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 number

Letters: Calling it quits

The ministry of rural development appears to have acquired an inadvertent monopoly on the name "Vijay" - just like Amitabh Bachchan who appeared in about 20 movies with the same name. There are six officers in the ministry who have "Vijay" in their name. According to the ministry's website, they are: S Vijay Kumar, secretary; S M Vijayanand, additional secretary; Vijaya Srivastava, joint secretary; T Vijay Kumar, joint secretary; andA Vijaya Kumar, PPS.

The Vijay ministry

Ever wonder what happens to the convocation gowns that graduates wear once the ceremonies are over? The answer can be had from the recent convocation ceremony at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. As the students followed the faculty off the podium after the ceremony and before they had even had a chance to pose for commemorative photographs with families and friends, a stern announcement was heard over the microphone: "Dear students, this is the last request. Please return your gowns immediately to the authorities."

Going, going, gown

After a recent meeting between bankers and the Reserve Bank of India on risk-based supervision, reporters were keen to know whether the cobrapost sting, in which officials in some banks were caught on camera offering to launder clients' black money, figured in the discussion, especially given the topic on hand. One chairman and managing director of a public sector bank quipped, "No wild animals were discussed, including cobra."

Sting-less operation

Slums in urban India symbolise both hope and despair. They are the entry point for impoverished villagers seeking to escape their deprivation. Living conditions in them, however, are often so unspeakable that the declared aim of the government is to have a slum-free India. But if the first detailed census of slum households in the country is anything to go by, they are very varied in nature, and therefore the government's attitude to, and policy for, slums needs to be much more nuanced. What can be said unequivocally is that a slum is no fit place to live. In fact, the census covers not just officially recognised and notified slums but others as well, and the criteria used to identify a slum is any place which is home to at least 60-70 households and is unfit to live in for a variety of reasons like the nature of the shelter available, overcrowding, the lack of sanitation and drinking water. Nearly twice as many households in slums do not have in-premise latrines or drinking water sour

The reality of slums

Touching the sky

LAST WEEK WE ASKED: In a dull job market, do you think B-school students should avoid being selective of profiles during placements?

Students' corner

The Cyprus conundrum

Rural development ministry's odd suggestions on land

Two steps backward

The Department of Economic Affairs' annual retreat may have managed to persuade a few celebrities such as Aamir Khan and Shekhar Kapur to attend in the past, but finance ministry officials will tell you that getting Bollywood's A-list actors is not easy. Officials say since the ministry does not pay these celebrities the fee that they would normally demand for such appearances, many celebrities decline citing prior commitments. But what is surprising for the ministry is that even a news anchor has not responded to its invitation this time. The joke doing the rounds is that an invitation from the tax department may possibly persuade some celebrities to change their minds.

Taxing invitations?

Earlier this month, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra was unavailable to demystify the state Budget numbers for the media, as is customary after the speech in the Assembly. Yet he found time to brief the press about a meeting between representatives from the Kolkata film fraternity and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He explained in great detail how the government was considering proposals forwarded by Goutam Ghosh and actor Prosenjit Chatterjee to make Bengal as lucrative a film shooting destination as Switzerland. The obvious question is, does Mitra have the finances to make Didi's Swiss dream a reality?

Business Standard

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