Bajaj Auto&rsquo;s new four-wheeled people-carrier might well create an entirely new category.

Don't call it a car

Business Standard

It is time the government reintroduced an industrial management pool.

Economists wanted

Your edit &ldquo;No business like news business&rdquo; (January 5) reminded me of a saying that we learnt in school: the pen is mightier than the sword. With the entry of the electronic media and more than hundred TV channels working day and night to cover the entire country and all sections of society, this industry is only going to grow bigger and more powerful. What&rsquo;s more, every political party, influential politician or business house seems to have a stake in or own a media business. Of course, viewers get what they want in the bargain &mdash; information and entertainment. But the problem is that the news we get is partisan in nature. Indeed Reliance Industries Limited&rsquo;s deal with Network18 has added new dimensions to this situation and throws up fresh challenges for regulators. In this situation, instead of trying to exercise control, the government should act fast in spelling out the guidelines for using 4G services.

Letters: The media and the medium

Who should you blame for disasters in your bailiwick? For the Trinamool Congress-supremo Mamata Banerjee that has become a complex question. For the Jnaneswari Express sabotage and the hooch tragedy, she was able to point fingers at the rival CPI(M). But an LCD television stolen from a Trinamool office in Kolkata has added a fresh twist to her blame game. When the party alleged that only the CPI(M) could have masterminded such a theft, Banerjee kept mum, unsure whether to blame party insiders or the opposition. Finally, this trust deficit or fear of prying CPI(M) ears prompted her to welcome the new year by making her chamber at Writers&rsquo; Buildings soundproof.

Sound of silence

This refers to your edit &ldquo;Board of political control&rdquo; (January 4). Cooperatives have played a significant role not only in providing agricultural and rural credit, but also in ensuring other linkages like inputs for farming and marketing avenues for products. Since these were mainly operating in rural and semi-urban areas, it took a longer time for this sector to access modern skills and technology. Although the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) was established in 1982 with the specific mandate of supporting cooperatives and the rural sector in general, its initial enthusiasm faded away in the absence of legislative and administrative support from the central and state governments. The institution was, thus, satisfied with being an appendage of RBI doing some &ldquo;safe&rdquo; business through established and credit-worthy cooperative banks and commercial banks.

Letters: A boost for cooperatives

Ever year, as winter approaches the Jammu and Kashmir government shifts its capital to Jammu and returns to Srinagar just before summer. This time, the transfer back to the summer capital is being eagerly awaited by northern zone public sector bank chiefs and chief ministers. That&rsquo;s because Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was scheduled to meet them in Srinagar in November, but the state government had already moved to Jammu. The new date for the meeting is now uncertain because Mukherjee is keen to hold the meeting in Srinagar because it has a significant minority population. But the secretariat will not be shifted back from Jammu till Srinagar is clear of winter fog.

Capital moves

Apropos Nilendra Kumar&rsquo;s letter &ldquo;Visa shenanigans&rdquo; (January 4), I wish to bring to your notice that our company technicians have been denied a transit passage through Europe even though they hold valid visas for Brazil and Colombia. This is unjustified since there are numerous flights from India to South America via Europe.

Letters: Access denied

Is December 31 the most appropriate time for CEOs to wish their employees a great new year? Or January 1? At least one Mumbai firm feels the new year wishes should be relayed on the first working day that follows January 1. &ldquo;People forget everything after the new year party. We don&rsquo;t want our Chairman&rsquo;s message to get drowned out in the party spirit the same day,&rdquo; a senior executive explained.

Hiccups in messaging

In 2011-12, outflows on oil subsidies could for the first time exceed central revenues from the oil sector.

An oil slick for the fisc

Mother Dairy&rsquo;s retail model helps farmers but is under pressure from chains.

Affordable shopping: Safal shows the way

In its hurry to meet revenue targets, the government is watering down regulations and hurting retail investors.

Disinvestment disrespect

A private sector bank has offered to transfer my credit card balance to theirs.

Debt counselling: Sanjay Agarwal

The fluctuation in rupee will not impact students' decision to defer or cancel their plans of studying abroad. Education is perceived as a long-term career investment, particularly when one looks for superior education in notable and top-rated institutions abroad. There will be no compromise on quality education to offset the increasing costs of studying abroad, and therefore little apprehension in joining the foreign institutes.&nbsp;However, there may be marginal decline in student traffic internationally with respect to tier -II and tier-III colleges abroad where the quality of education and infrastructure are comparable to the domestic institutes.

Students' corner

I have two term plans. 1) Sum assured = Rs 10 lakh; bought in December 2006, maturing in 25 years; premium = Rs 3,755. 2) Sum assured = Rs 40 lakh, accident rider = Rs 8 lakh, bought in February 2008, maturing in 20 years; premium = Rs 11,554. Premium for term plans have fallen drastically since. Should I buy a single plan with a sum assured of Rs 50 lakh and terminate both policies.

Life insurance: Deepak Sood

Your edit &quot;More Sreedharans&quot; (January 4) was apt in describing the &quot;managerial and leadership&quot; situation in the public sector. But the private sector is no good either. The money in it may be good, but lack of leadership qualities is affecting private sector enterprises too. This is evident from the fact that India has neither been able to produce any world-class product and market products (even agricultural crops like coffee loses its sheen in the international market), nor has it given birth to visionaries who can change the way industry works.

Letters: ... a look at the private sector

Apropos the edit &ldquo;More Sreedharans&rdquo; (January 4), the lament that &ldquo;there are few enough such names in the government or public sector&rdquo; is based on limited knowledge and a sample of facts. The public sector still boasts some of the best minds and experts in project implementations in core and infrastructure sectors. The recently retired chairman and managing director of NMDC, Rana Som, can be credited with some of the biggest successes in acquiring resource assets overseas. NTPC, under former chairman and managing director R S Sharma and current incumbent Arup Roy Chowdhury, has achieved a reputation for being the best in power project implementation. S K Roongta, former chairman and managing director of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), is credited with turning the company around.

Letters: Beyond 'the' Sreedharans

Tamil Nadu Congressman H Vasanthakumar&rsquo;s eye-catching jacket ad in The Hindu&rsquo;s Delhi edition paying sycophantic homage to Sonia Gandhi attracted considerable comment and amusement. But The Hindu&rsquo;s editor Sidharth Varadarajan is emphatically not amused. Replying to many messages he received on the subject, he put this entry on his Facebook page: &ldquo;To all those who messaged me about the atrocious front page ad in The Hindu&rsquo;s Delhi edition [http://on.wsj.com/tLKSv3] on Jan 1, my view as Editor is that this sort of crass commercialisation compromises the image and reputation of my newspaper. We are putting in place a policy to ensure the front page is not used for this sort of an ad again.

Ad nauseam

Here is a uniquely public sector problem. A day before the special offer on housing and car loans ended, the chairman and managing director of a mid-sized public sector bank didn&rsquo;t know whether his bank had decided to extend the offer. &ldquo;The general manager who handles the portfolio has been transferred to another bank, so we will take the decision when the replacement joins office,&rdquo; he said. Then minutes later, he called to tell us that the bank had decided to extend the special offer by a month.

Transferred asset

The position of state chief secretary is a fairly prestigious one within the bureaucracy but Madhya Pradesh is struggling to fill a gap that will be left when the current incumbent retires in April. Although seven senior officials are eligible, none of them want the post. The reason: no one wants to take charge with general elections about two years away. &ldquo;There is hardly any time to deliver before the elections so who will put his career at stake?&rdquo; a senior official explained, adding that only the brave or those with retirement plans are likely to give it a shot. But reportedly, bureaucrats who have evinced interest were denied access to the chief minister&rsquo;s residence because they did not possess &ldquo;adequate qualifications&rdquo;.

Situation vacant

Big business is entering the news media, creating new challenges for regulators, viewers and producers.

No business like news business

The name Dal Bahadur Kori might not ring a bell to many. He was &mdash; until recently &mdash; a staunch Congressman who completed his Class X in 2010 after being inspired by Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. The 54-year politician was so enamoured by Gandhi that he had decided to finally become a graduate and join his team. However, it seems the plans to study further are not going to take shape, as the politician has switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in this election season. Kori had joined the Congress in 2007 from the BJP. Although he had not even completed Class X then, he was a minister in the Kalyan Singh government.

Business Standard

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