As mergers and acquisitions become more complex and multi-layered, requiring multiple regulatory clearances and compliances, the understanding of the &lsquo;C&rsquo; word has become more crucial than ever(Click on graph)

Figuring out control

Business Standard

As Pranab Mukherjee demits office as Finance Minister to file his nomination for the Presidential election, Business Standard looks back at his chequered political career(Click on graph)

An essay in pictures

The amount of agricultural credit has exploded in the recent past. But its impact is not showing up to the extent it should. Going by the Reserve Bank of India estimates, the total disbursement of agricultural credit soared by 755 per cent between 2000 and 2010. But it has resulted neither in commensurate growth in farm productivity, nor in the sale of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and farm machinery. More importantly, the dependence of farmers on informal sources of credit, notably moneylenders, has not declined. The Planning Commission estimates that about 80 million of India&rsquo;s 128 million land-holding farmers continue to be out of the institutional system of credit. Clearly, much of this expansion of credit is missing its target, and is not reaching small and marginal farmers &mdash; who need it the most.

Arbitrage galore

Broking firms offer systematic investment plans (SIPs) in stocks.

Investing: Rishi Nathany

Over the weekend, Indians were told that the Centre planned some big changes for Monday, Pranab Mukherjee&rsquo;s last full day as finance minister and the first working day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returned from a series of global summits. Expectations were ramped up, considerably, with the prime minister promising action on reform. Mr Mukherjee said, specifically, that measures would be announced to halt the slide of the rupee; India&rsquo;s currency has depreciated beyond what most analysts would suppose is the exchange rate that economic fundamentals suggest. In response, markets saw some excitement. Stock exchange indices rose, and the rupee appreciated by a percentage point against the dollar. But when Monday rolled around, the news was disappointing: the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stopped at liberalising foreign exchange regulations marginally. The rupee lost most of the gains it had made, and market indices closed at the day&rsquo;s low.

Not enough

On Tuesday, Pranab Mukherjee resigned as finance minister in order to stand as the ruling United Progressive Alliance&rsquo;s (UPA&rsquo;s) candidate for the post of president. It is expected that the finance ministry will be handled for some time by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This has given rise to expectations that pending reform will be speeded up, and the problematic recent drift towards control and confusion in policy making reversed.

Top 10 list

A survey of 1,206 face-to-face interviews of adults in Pakistan shows that roughly four-in-10 believe that American economic and military aid is actually having a negative impact on their country, while only about one-in-10 think the impact is positive. Only 22% of Pakistanis have a favourable view of India, a small improvement from 14% last year. India is ranked higher than Taliban and Al Qaida as the biggest threat.

Threat perspective: Pakistan

The recent announcement that the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) may outsource the manufacture of communications satellites and launch vehicles marks a paradigm shift. The space agency needs to focus on research to meet ambitious targets like its planned Mars Mission, Chandrayaan II, developing higher-powered satellites and so on.

Closer to Nasa

I worked for a US-based company between 2000 and 2005. I have a savings bank account and some deposit in a bank there.

Taxation: Homi Mistry

The insurance for my bike expired on January 14, 2012. Unfortunately, I met with an accident just a few days after that. When I informed the insurer about the incident, they said my insurance had expired two days back.

General Insurance:  Bhargav Dasgupta

Nilanjana S Roy&rsquo;s &ldquo;Gitta Sereny &mdash; The difficulty of evil&rdquo; (Speaking Volumes, June 25) is moral relativism at its worst. By calling the line that separates good from evil &ldquo;the flimsiest of curtains,&rdquo; Roy falls prey to the classic fallacy: &ldquo;Nobody is objectively right or wrong, it&rsquo;s the circumstances that decide.

Letters: Moral maze

Muhtar Kent, global chairman and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company, has announced an investment of $3 billion (Rs 17,000 crore) to help India become among the top five markets for the beverage giant over the next few years. In conversation with media in Delhi, he outlines the country&rsquo;s importance in the company&rsquo;s plan to double revenues over the next eight years.

We play a responsible role in the debate over obesity: Muhtar Kent

The departure of Pranab Mukherjee from the finance ministry has produced its share of stories, comments, and speculation. Of course, most of them have extolled his long career. However, more than a few have been far less favourable &mdash; critical reviews of his achievements as finance minister over the past few years, for example, as well as much discussion of the apparent tension between him and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But even more puzzlingly, there is also considerable expectation that now the coalition&rsquo;s policy paralysis could end &mdash; which sits oddly with the earlier conventional wisdom that Mr Mukherjee was the United Progressive Alliance&rsquo;s troubleshooter. This change in attitude towards the once-feted finance minister as he prepares to leave his post has not gone unnoticed. Even Vijay Mallya, on Twitter, remarked: &ldquo;Winds of opinion blow strangely in tough situations. Pranabda was saviour and solution generator.

Winds of opinion

Apropos &ldquo;Setback to Trinamool&rdquo; (June 25), it appears that Mamata Banerjee has not learnt much despite being at the helm of affairs for more than a year in West Bengal. Indeed, she should stop making an ego issue out of every little political development that does not suit her, and see the larger picture in the interest of the people of her state. She should take the Singur judgement and the presidential candidature of Pranab Mukherjee in her stride and emerge a stronger leader. One can&rsquo;t deny that Banerjee is correct in wanting the Centre to help her state with a financial package. But she, too, needs to work towards creating an investor-friendly atmosphere in West Bengal &mdash; surely, a repeat performance of the Nandigram-Singur agitation won&rsquo;t help.

Letters: Put state before ego

Meanwhile, those officials at the finance ministry who were close to Mr Mukherjee and had seen their power and clout grow considerably of late are beginning to taste the fruits of the new order. They originally celebrated his nomination as president, but soon came to realise what the announcement could mean to them. One such official wanted to get an event organised by the income-tax department last week at a particular venue. However, he could be seen red-faced after his request was turned down &mdash; and for a reason that he obviously didn&rsquo;t much like. The helpless official just said, angrily: &ldquo;Do whatever you people like &mdash; I can&rsquo;t do anything now.

Winds of change

This refers to the edit &ldquo;Not enough&rdquo; (June 26). A few days ago, Pranab Mukherjee had promised that some important economic measures would be announced on his last day as finance minister. One wonders whether Mukherjee &ndash; who is touted as a politician with a &ldquo;long and distinguished career in public service&rdquo; &ndash; was actually desirous of serving himself, and not the economy, by announcing these measures. It seems that he was keen on exiting the finance ministry on a high note and announcing steps to improve the economy was his last shot at personal glory.

Letters: For economy or glory?

Even as the indifferent monsoon is threatening to affect crop sowing in the current season, the recent spike in the prices of some fertilisers and related developments in the fertiliser sector are adding to disquiet over kharif production prospects.

Soil imbalance

Pranab Mukherjee&rsquo;s departure from the finance ministry has provided an opportunity to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to implement his reform agenda. The PM should either keep the finance portfolio with himself or appoint an FM of his choice who will help facilitate the policies he has in mind to improve India&rsquo;s failing economy. Either way, he must exert his authority and refuse to work with his hands tied.

Letters: More power for the PM

The person least bothered by all the fuss accompanying Mr Mukherjee&rsquo;s transition is, apparently, Mr Mukherjee himself &mdash; at least now that the tension around whether or not he would be nominated by the United Progressive Alliance is over. According to Pallavi Ghosh of CNN-IBN on Twitter, barely a few minutes before he was scheduled to leave to hand in his resignation on Tuesday afternoon, he had shut himself in his room &mdash; for a well-deserved afternoon nap. Clearly, the joys of retirement start early.

Business Standard

Business Standard

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