India&rsquo;s seamless switch from the World Cup victory to pop-rock cricket, the India Premier League, has all the makings of another spectacular innings. The only party-pooper seems to be the tussle between the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) and Sri Lanka Cricket, which wants the Lankans back for practice sessions for international matches. In this clash between flag and IPL, as in other similar ones, the bet is that the BCCI-controlled IPL will win &mdash; almost uncontested.

Flouting the clout

Business Standard

Now, at certain times &mdash; particularly during war or recession &mdash; our nation has had to borrow money to pay for some of our priorities. And as most families understand, a little credit card debt isn't going to hurt if it's temporary.

'We need to get honest over what is causing the deficit'

If the bet is on continued range-trading, option combinations like butterflies could work well.

The butterfly option 

Binayak Sen finally stands vindicated by the Supreme Court. The apex court has said he did not engage in sedition, and that he is no Naxal sympathiser. Of course, the state government has an appeal in the High Court, charging him with waging war against the state, reminds a wary brother Dipankar Sen. Yet, he feels the worst just got over.

Sreelatha Menon: A campaign to free Bastar from Naxals?

Water may be a renewable resource but that does not mean that it can be exploited beyond a limit. That limit is set, in the Indian sub-continent, by the rate of replenishment of water through yearly monsoon rains. This cardinal principle is, however, being disregarded in the case of groundwater in many parts of the country, where it has already become scarce due to reckless use for agriculture and industry.

Water, water...nowhere

New Delhi must have contingency plans to defend its energy supply lines and workers in the Gulf countries in the event that the Arab uprisings result in calls for US and Nato forces to leave the region.

Prakash Shah: Tunisian contagion and India's Gulf interests

Nowadays, I find my mind turning often to memories of a granduncle. He was over six feet tall, had a booming voice and by the time I was 10 was already in his seventies and retired from the British Raj government as a head constable of police.

Ajit Balakrishnan: Decoding India's corruption wars

The issue of applicability of interest, in a situation of wrong availment of input tax credit which had not thereafter been utilised was discussed in this column on an earlier occasion when the Punjab &amp; Haryana High Court had addressed the issue in its decision in Ind-Swift Laboratories Ltd. Vs Union of India [2009-240-ELT-328 (P&amp;H)]. This article highlights the position post the Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision on the matter in the departmental appeal filed against the above decision.

Interest on wrong availment of CENVAT credit - a real hardship

Provisions relating to filing of return of income are contained in section 139 of the Income-tax Act. As per section 139(1) a company is mandatorily required to file its return of income irrespective of the fact whether the company earns any income or not. A company incorporated outside India, i.e. a foreign company, is also covered within the definition of a &quot;company&quot; as defined in section 2(17) of the Income-tax Act.

Is filing returns mandatory for foreign cos?

The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) has issued a discussion paper on conceptual issues faced in development of Cost Accounting Standards (CAS). ICWAI has already issued twelve CASs. The aim of CASs is to achieve uniformity and consistency in classification, measurement and assignment of cost to product (including services). Cost of product is measured for three purposes. Financial accounting uses it for inventory valuation; regulators use it for different purposes (e.g. for determining the excise duty on items produced for captive consumption and for regulating price of a product); and managers use it for decision-making. Product cost used for decision-making depends on the nature of the decision for which it is used. Clearly CASs neither covers product cost used for inventory valuation (which is governed by GAAP) nor product cost used for decision-making. Therefore, CASs cover product cost, which is used by regulators.

Interest not part of product cost

When the full Planning Commission meets later this week, its chairman &ndash; the prime minister &ndash; is likely to be presented with two scenarios for India&rsquo;s 12th five-year plan (2012-17). The first scenario is based on a percentage point improvement in the overall growth rate of the economy in the 12th plan compared to the 11th five-year plan (2007-12). Against the performance of 8.1 per cent in the 11th plan period, the first scenario would seek a 9 per cent growth rate in the 12th plan. The second scenario would be more ambitious and seek a 10 per cent growth rate. However, attaining either target will require considerable homework by the Indian government and business. It has been found during the 11th plan period that whenever economic growth accelerates beyond 8 per cent, inflationary pressures seem to develop owing to a variety of supply-side constraints.

Credibility of planning

For all those who seek a new institution as an answer to the corruption of existing ones, here is an invaluable reminder from a learned judge: it is people who make and unmake institutions. Delivering the fifth M C Setalvad Memorial Lecture, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice S H Kapadia, offered fellow judges some valuable homilies on how they should conduct themselves in public and private, on the bench and off it. He reminded the Indian judiciary of the limits of its constitutional role. In defining the role of the judiciary and its relationship with the executive and the legislature and in stating baldly some dos and don&rsquo;ts, Justice Kapadia has elevated the status of the CJI and of the judiciary as a whole. One man has restored to the highest court of the land dignity and prestige that had been robbed by another man.

The CJI's mirror 

Back in 2007-08, when the financial crisis was still called the &ldquo;subprime&rdquo; crisis, Europeans felt superior to the United States. European bankers surely knew better than to hand out so-called &ldquo;NINJA&rdquo; (no income, no job, no assets) loans. These days, however, Europeans have little reason to feel smug. Their leaders seem unable to come to grips with the eurozone&rsquo;s debt crisis.

Daniel Gros: Europe's subprime quagmire

This summer will witness a clash of wills in Kashmir, the outcome of which could reshape New Delhi&rsquo;s engagement with Pakistan and its dialogue with the Kashmiri secessionist leadership. In the blue corner, so to speak, is Kashmir&rsquo;s new generation of hard-line separatists, a tiger of unknown stripe, on whose back Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani precariously perches, pretending to ride it.

Ajai Shukla: Another summer of unrest in Kashmir?

If you wanted to change the world, 2006 was a good year in which to find inspiration, in the lives of restless men with a will to make the world better and a yen for mountaineering.

Nilanjana S Roy: Greg Mortenson's bitter brew

This column has been modified. Please see the correction at the end.

Surinder Sud: On the camel's back

A welfare state dispenses enormous benefits in many forms &mdash; contracts, licences, services, jobs, cash grants and security benefits, among other things. Apart from these traditional forms of wealth in the hands of the state, new ones are being added like air waves, spectrum, time and space. These are purportedly distributed in public interest by political leaders in power and officials. But the recent scams highlight the misuse of their discretionary powers.

M J Antony: Care with discretion

Strong credit dynamics suggest that the IMF and ADB&rsquo;s warnings are valid, but key indicators like the average inflation rate and the trade and power deficit suggest otherwise.

Is the Indian economy overheating?

Indian industry should welcome the implementation from June 1 of the new merger and acquisition (M&amp;A) norms under sections 5 and 6 of the Competition Act, 2002. Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Murli Deora has assured India Inc that its opinions will be taken on board before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) frames the regulations. But for most businesses, the very fact that most M&amp;As will be subject to CCI approval is cause for concern. To be sure, the government has set limits, but these are hardly reassuring. Corporations with turnovers above Rs 1,500 crore will have to inform the CCI before merging with another firm. Currently, about a third of the country&rsquo;s 1,000 largest listed companies would qualify for this threshold if they opted for an M&amp;A. Also, CCI will vet only those M&amp;As that have combined assets of Rs 1,000 crore or more or combined turnover of Rs 3,000 crore or more.

Hobbled by regulation

The recent meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington agreed to set up a surveillance system to monitor the economic performance of countries with the greatest potential for &ldquo;spillover effects&rdquo; &mdash; the economic impact that extended beyond their boundaries. The list is expected to include the US, China, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and India. The surveillance system will eventually be extended to all G20 members. The criterion for deciding the composition of the first list was economic size. All seven countries contribute at least 5 per cent to G20&rsquo;s total output. The economic indicators that will be continually monitored include fiscal deficits, public debt, trade imbalances and net investment incomes and flows. A set of statistical methods and structural approaches has been devised to provide warning signals if one or more indicators are at or above danger levels. This is a well-intentioned exercise, which is designed to be pre-emptive in nature.

Monitoring the monitors

When the Climate Change Conference at Cancun in December last year concluded with a series of &ldquo;Cancun Agreements&rdquo;, and was hailed as a significant success, I argued that celebrations over the outcome may be premature (&ldquo;Are celebrations premature?&rdquo;, Business Standard, December 15, 2010). The Cancun Agreements constituted a minimalist framework which needed to be fleshed out and finalised for adoption at the next Climate Change Conference in Durban in December this year.

Shyam Saran: The Bangkok sequel to Cancun

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