The auction of the 1,800-MHz band 2G telecom spectrum that began on Monday received poor response from telecom firms, and the govt was able to get just Rs 9,224.75 cr at the end of the seventh round of bidding.

The 2G auction: a flop show

Business Standard

At a panel discussion on Inclusive Governance at the World Economic Forum last week, somebody from the floor asked Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai why bureaucrats and ministers always travelled in white Ambassadors with curtains on the windows, if the government was serious about bringing in more transparency into its functioning. Rai proved the eagle-eyed auditor when he swiftly corrected the questioner: &ldquo;White ambassadors have made way for Maruti SX4s.

Rai's 'carrection'

Indian-origin CEO of Datawind, the maker of India's low-cost tablet Aakash, Suneet Singh Tuli and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Anant Agarwal have been named by Forbes magazine among the 15 &ldquo;classroom revolutionaries&rdquo; who are using innovative technologies to reinvent education for students and teachers globally.

Education innovators

Asked a question about Vijay Mallya striking a deal to sell a major chunk of his liquor business to Diageo and whether it would help revive ailing Kingfisher Airlines, Chaudhuri passed the question to SBI&rsquo;s newly-appointed Managing Director S Vishvanathan, saying, &ldquo;He is the best person to answer that question in the right spirit, and not in a derogatory way, as he shares the best and intimate relationship with Mr Mallya.

Relationship management

Comptroller &amp; Auditor General Vinod Rai was the highlight of the first session at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, but he discovered the flip side of media interest. Before the session began, he told journalists not to expect headline-making statements from him. During the session, Rai said the brazenness with which decisions were taken in the government was appaling, but things had started changing. Some papers played up only the first part of his statement, so Rai unwittingly ended up making headlines anyway. Small wonder Congress leader Digvijay Singh took a dig at Rai and asked him to stop leaks from the institution he heads.

Telling omission

The report &ldquo;Public sector banks account for bulk of customer complaints in 2011-12&rdquo; (November 9) makes one wonder whether the banks would show any improvement in the current year. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its circular dated September 3, 2012, directed banks to issue only CTS (cheque truncation system)-2010 cheques after September 30, 2012. With just about two months before these cheques become invalid, at least one public sector bank, Central Bank of India, continues to flout the RBI directive. As late as October 31, 2012, customers have been issued cheque-books that are not in accordance with the stipulated CTS-2010 standard by their Hadapsar (Pune region) branch. Is this not wasteful expenditure, customer harassment, and deficiency of services? Perhaps, the solution lies in the su-motu action by the ombudsman on flouting of RBI&rsquo;s directives.

Letters: Flouting the norm

This refers to the edit &ldquo;Just too many meetings&rdquo; (November 9). The basic purpose of appointing independent directors is to improve corporate governance standards in listed companies. But with individuals having more than one directorship, the benefit of independent directors&rsquo; wise counsel is not always available to companies concerned. In this light, the findings of Ingovern Research Services are quite revealing. Many independent directors are either not able to attend all board meetings, or do not devote enough time to do their duty as directors. Thus, the very objective behind appointment of independent directors is defeated.

Letters: Not in the line of duty

This refers to the edit &ldquo;Worsening asset quality&rdquo; (November 12). The deterioration in the quality of assets may be partly due to the downtrend in the economy, but the same cannot be taken as a matter of consolation for banks and stakeholders of banks. The seeds of non-performing assets (NPAs) are sown during the boom period when banks expand credit, throwing caution to the winds all appraisal standards. Borrowers take full advantage of this liberalised approach of the banks.

Letters: Asset liabilities

The documents that Arvind Kejriwal released last week, which he claimed were leaked witness statements recorded by income tax officials in the course of a raid, raise serious questions about the Indian entity of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).

Stop the silence 

When the industrial production statistics for the month of August 2012 were released last month, many observers quickly declared that the economy had bottomed out. The index of industrial production (IIP) for August 2012 was 2.5 per cent higher than for August 2011. Some senior government figures publicly claimed the 2.5 per cent per cent year-on-year growth indicated the Indian economy had turned a corner. However, as this newspaper warned at the time, greater caution was warranted.

A long winter for industry

I am 26 and have been working for two years. I earn Rs 45,000 a month. I have no dependents. My monthly expenses are Rs 15,000-20,000. The rest is saved, though I am yet to start investing. I want to buy a car in six months. The equated monthly instalment (EMI) is expected to be Rs 8,000-9,000. How should I go about this? I also want to start investing the money I save every month.

Financial Planning: Malhar Majumdar

Abheek Barua&rsquo;s column &ldquo;What Obama means for the markets&rdquo; (World Money, November 12) provides a very lucid analysis of the positive effects of Obama&rsquo;s re-election on the world economy. It is, however, difficult to agree with its analysis of the looming US fiscal cliff.

Letters: Giving back to the poor

The Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) has put up a board wishing Telugus a happy Diwali. The greetings are written in Marathi and Telugu &mdash; which leaves one wondering about MNS&rsquo; Marathi Manoos agenda.

MNS' Telugu connection

This refers to Abheek Barua&rsquo;s column &ldquo;What Obama means for the markets&rdquo; (World Money, November 12). US President Barack Obama&rsquo;s victory is good news for India. His past visit to India was crucial for strengthening bilateral ties between India and the US. Also, Obama has eased the export controls on dual-use technology. As a result, the country&rsquo;s big entities, the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Space Research Organisation, will benefit from the technologies from the US. Obama&rsquo;s previous announcement of deals worth $10 billion with the American companies was also a breakthrough on the business front.

Letters: Breaking the barriers

Bureaucrats are always powerful, and the ancient doctrine of vaastu just proved it in Chhattisgarh. When the state secretariat was recently shifted to Naya Raipur &ndash; the new administrative capital of the mineral-rich state &ndash; Chief Minister Raman Singh took special attention to ensure that everything was vaastu compliant. The chamber designed for the chief minister, however, had many vaastu-related problems, so seating plans were realigned. The chief minister will now sit in the office allotted to his principal secretary and the huge chief ministerial chamber will be occupied by the principal secretary. This apart, a three-day yagya was performed in the new building premises before its inauguration. But things did not start off on the right track, in spite of all these precautions. The chief minister&rsquo;s first Cabinet meeting in the new building has been rescheduled twice in the last four days for one reason or the other.

Vaastu powers

This refers to Aditi Phadnis&rsquo; column &ldquo;Gadkari: second time lucky?&rdquo; (Plain Politics, November 10). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has had a troubled bevy of top leadership after Atal Bihari Vajpayee faded away from active politics. Moreover, the party has been collectively courting trouble with unending ego clashes within itself.

Letters: BJP power play

When the US Presidential campaign started, the general belief was that if President Barack Obama managed to get the unemployment rate in the US below eight per cent, he would be re-elected &ndash; a rule of thumb from previous elections. As Table 1 shows, from near 10 per cent over a year ago, the unemployment rate is just under eight per cent today &ndash; and Obama was re-elected.

StatsGuru: 12-November-2012

Insurers ask for original keys as proof in order to check that the vehicle owner wasn&rsquo;t negligent in maintaining the security of the vehicle. Duplicate keys (made by local locksmiths) won&rsquo;t be accepted.

Tipping point

Business Standard brings to you a snapshot of average current rates and unit sizes in localities that offer property in the price range of Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore.

Realty check

Every Monday, Business Standard analyses one family&rsquo;s finances and suggests a suitable way forward(Click here for graphic)

Business Standard

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