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Title deed difficulties

Kala Seetharam Sridhar and Asha Ravi — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:08:00 GMT

The government in September unveiled a draft new law on the much-awaited real estate regulator to oversee builders for protecting homebuyers. This is a step well taken. However, there is still a lengthy chain of procedures the buyer has to go through to complete the registration process of the land and the property once it has been bought from the builder.

A title deed is a legal document used to prove ownership of a piece of property. In many regions of the world, a title deed confers certain rights and privileges on the person who holds it, and such deeds are necessary in situations where people want to transfer ownership of their property. There is a lengthy list of documents which are prerequisites for obtaining the title deed of a property in India—site allotment notice, possession certificate, sale deed, encumbrance certificate, transfer certificate, tax-paid receipts, intermediate sale deeds and registration certificate, to name a few.

The actual procedure for obtaining the title deed for a property is as follows. First, an application is submitted to the relevant urban development authority for a title deed, to be done immediately following the obtaining of sale deed. An encumbrance certificate (EC) has to be obtained: Before buying any land or house, it is important to confirm that the land does not have any legal dues. This certificate is available from the sub-registrar office, where the deed has been registered. But the longer the time period since the sale deed has been issued, the greater the likelihood of legal dues, and the longer it takes to get an EC. There’s also a penalty which needs to be paid if the title deed is not obtained immediately after the sale deed. If there is a time gap between obtaining the certificate and the next steps, an updated one has to be produced.

Once this is obtained, a copy of the lease-cum-sale document, allotted by the urban development authority to the original allottee, needs to be obtained. A transfer certificate then needs to be obtained. This is followed by a site inspection which confirms that the property for which the title deed is being sought is, in fact, real. A site inspection also confirms that the buyer has absolute possession and that the measurements are as per the sale deed. Following this, a title deed is issued in the property owner’s name. The registration of this property is done at the sub-registrar’s office, wherein a stamp duty is paid.

The interesting aspect of the process described above is that neither the procedure nor the documents are the same for every case. It varies depending on the nature of the transaction. In theory, the time taken for the process is only 45 days. But this rarely happens in practice. In practice, the time taken for obtaining a title deed is roughly six months.

In no other country is the obtaining of a title deed so complicated and time-consuming as it is in India. In the US, for example, this procedure can be completed in as little as 10 days.

Since the procedures are extremely lengthy, households just bypass the procedures and buy illegally. So solving this issue will benefit all—the government, the developers and the purchasers— and will improve the property market. Committees could be created in every town, under the supervision of the ministry of urban development, to record within three months all properties for which a title deed has not been issued.

There are other solutions: Karnataka has been contemplating the issue of a property card to get around the unreliable, often misused, records of rights for property owners. Hence, the proposed real estate regulator should oversee these aspects of the post-building process as well.

Kala Seetharam Sridhar is senior research fellow, Public Affairs Centre, Bangalore, and Asha Ravi is a consultant engineer based in Mysore. The views expressed here are personal. Comments are welcome at otherviews@livemint.com

MNS and Maharashtra

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:45:00 GMT

The policies of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, or MNS, (“Countering the MNS threat”, Mint, 16 November) will in no way help the Marathi cause. They are, in fact, detrimental to the people of Maharashtra and, if realized, will alienate them from the global economy. In addition to the measures that the government should take to counter this campaign, I think the role of the press is also important. If there is consensus on not publicizing any protest or campaign carried out by the MNS, or stop the broadcasting of MNS leaders’ speeches or statements, I think it will take a long time for this party to make its voice heard. This would help control the fire that the MNS is trying from spreading not only in Maharashtra but elsewhere, too.

— Saurabh Jain

With reference to the article by Madhukar Angur (“For a universal idea of health”, Mint, 13 November), two points came to my mind.

1) Does the average cost of healthcare computation in India include private (non-government, non-insurance spending) also? My suspicion is that it does not include this amount, based on the article (see the link below). If so, is this the right comparison across countries? Again based on the article below, the average spend per capita in India goes up to approximately $45, a fivefold increase from the author’s figure. While this may not change the arguments in the article as this is primarily vis-à-vis the US, it is important to present reasonably accurate figures. (See http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-ranks-171-out-of-175-in-public-health-spending-says-WHO-study/articleshow/4879566.cms)

2) Another way of looking at the data is a 10-year increase in average life expectancy, from 70 to 80 that comes at a cost of about $3,000-4,000 per annum. Over a decade, it amounts to an average $35,000. How? Average spend of other countries less the average spend of India=approximately $1,500 per year. A two-three multiple on this is taken to reflect the higher-than-average spends in the age group between 70 and 80.

Is the economic value of life for society, between ages 70 and 80, important enough to warrant spending so much more? Can this money be more productively used to support the “more able” sections of people in any manner whatsoever?

More fundamentally, are we going against the laws of nature in promoting life support for an age group where nature has, through natural selection, allowed people who are beyond their productive years to pass away?

— Narayan Anand

This has reference to your editorial “Rethinking economic reforms”, Mint, 17 November.

I do not agree with your view that there are only a few political problems in the area of credit availability. Political interference in big-ticket loans is a well-guarded secret in banking circles. It happens at the level of chief executive officers (CEOs) of banks. We all know that CEOs and the executive directors of all the public sector banks are appointed at the behest of the Union finance ministry. The ministry, of course, has its own outwardly well-respected (but inwardly manipulated) system to nominate such positions. The Reserve Bank of India is only a mute spectator to such important decisions.

While your call for a simplified legal framework is quite correct, the appraisal skills of lending bankers also need improvement. Unfortunately, bankers have poor appraisal skills and ability when it comes to big-ticket loans. Even if they apply 50% of the appraisal skills that the stock market adopts to value its listed securities, there would be fewer non-performing assets.

— K.V. Rao

Sebi’s disclosure reforms

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:15:00 GMT

The changes proposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in disclosure norms, giving listed firms the option to present consolidated financial statements under the International Financial Reporting Standards, are a welcome move (Mint, 11 November). Since this is optional, there won’t be any confusion, and it’s beneficial from the investors’ point of view. Sebi is mulling more proposals, such as presenting balance sheet along with quarterly results. In this volatile world, governance and risk management go together, and timely information is vital.

— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

I do not agree with your premise that India is a soft state (“A soft state called India”, Mint, 26 October). I think India is a brutal, unintelligent and totally unprepared state as far as dealing with crime and terror is concerned.

Your article also switches between unrelated issues and gives a false sense of reality. As far as hostages are concerned, the prime function of any authority is to ensure the safe return of its own people, whether civilians or serving officers. The ideal way to do this would be to mount a rescue operation which would minimize the risks for the hostages and cause maximum damage to the hostage takers.

India is pathetically unprepared to mount such rescue attempts. Our equipment is substandard and the level of training and preparedness of our agencies is far below optimal. In such a scenario, giving in to the terrorists’ demands appears to be the only way to secure the release of civilians and serving personnel. I do not know of any police force which can boast of a fit and ready team of officers.

Instead, our police force is known for all the wrong things. Our police force is known for custody deaths, encounter killings. The state of Maharashtra has a terrible record of custody deaths—the killing of Khwaja Yunus is still unresolved and no one has been punished for this. Gujarat has been pulled up by the honourable Supreme Court for the encounter of Ishrat Jahan.

So what we have is a brutal, unskilled police force which wreaks havoc on its own citizens, yet is helpless against organized crime and terror.

The Maulana Masood Azhar case is a typical example of delayed procedures. He should have been tried, sentenced and executed in the shortest possible time to ensure that he was not released. We need faster trials, better prosecutions and forensic skills which can be used to convict criminals.

Finally, terror and counter-terror are like a chess game, they should not be an expression of testosterone and muscle. We need the knowledge, the equipment and the skills to deal with terror.

The best way to prevent terror is to ensure that we do not push people to the point where they are willing to sacrifice their lives for a real or even imaginary grievance or cause.

No sir, India is not a soft state; India is a brutal, repressive state unable to deal with increasingly better-trained and more motivated terrorists.

— Raj Khalid

Telecom scandal and our character

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:49:00 GMT

It is nice to see that you hold your views and have courage to speak out (“The spectrum sting”, Mint, 26 October). But look at our character. The Cellular Operators Association of India, the Association of Unified Telecom Services Providers of India and the Internet Service Providers Association of India, which had questions on the policies and methods before the elections, were all out with praise on the minister’s reappointment, endorsing his actions. Indeed, morality has no place in our lives now, which is largely driven by economic greed and personal ambition. The statement by the Prime Minister (reported in newspapers) gives a “clean chit” to what is being questioned and, therefore, action by the Central Bureau of Investigation will get quietly buried in time, just as it has in many other cases.

—Tosh K. Toshniwal

“Dealing with the dollar” (Mint, 26 October) was an interesting and even informative read.

A minor point, if I may. My point is that the weakening of the dollar is not necessarily a sign of the weakness of the US economy. I believe the weakening of the dollar is more “self-induced” than exogenous. I tend to think the Barack Obama administration prefers a weak dollar as part of a larger strategy to “turn inwards” and focus on the domestic economy at a time when the economy is recovering from a tailspin following the 2008 financial crisis. A weaker dollar, as you have pointed out, stimulates exports while dissuading imports, aids the domestic economy and helps boost employment at a time when many economies are bracing for the fallout of the Copenhagen climate change talks.

God knows the US induced the financial crisis of 2008 at the height of the “strong dollar regime”, and leveraged it to siphon trillions of dollars into nations whose stock markets and currencies are appreciating under the “weak dollar regime”—perhaps awaiting the right time to pull back the funds and distribute them as economic stimulus funds even as the rest of the world takes a monetary reboot all over again?

— Ganga Prasad G. Rao

In my humble opinion, we cannot blame the family members of hostages for trying to secure release of their kin (“A soft state called India”, Mint, 26 October). In the first place, governments, Union and state, do not have the will for tough action. It is the job of a government to protect innocent citizens by taking on terrorists, whether they be from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Maoists or any other group. “Intellectuals” in West Bengal may have sympathy for Maoists, or other groups elsewhere may have sympathy for LeT; however, government policies and actions cannot be based on the “views” of a few. Government action must be for the greater good of all citizens. Any terrorist action in this country is followed by headline news of the Prime Minister or the Union home minister reiterating the government’s will to break the terrorists’ back. The press lacks the courage to challenge those in power and needs to demand action from them. Eleven months later, life in Mumbai is back to normal but is it any safer? Is India ready to tackle another 26/11 this year? The answer is: no.

Until the Centre creates a tough policy on handling such situations and follows it by hard action, India will remain a soft state.

— Ashim Roy

The Chinese government last Monday released guidelines on rebalancing its economy (“The hole China finds itself in”, Mint, 20 October). These steps should not be misjudged as retrograde. Although it is their first serious step towards adapting to the contemporary situation, China has to shift its focus from the US and European markets towards relatively less explored markets such as those in South America, Africa and South-East Asia. It’s the perfect situation for them to revive/rebalance their economy on a substantial basis.

— Himanshu Sharma

Counting the poor

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:08:00 GMT

The best way to assess the poor (Who count as India’s poor?, Mint, 2 October) is to entrust survey and identification work to village panchayats. Panchayat members know who the poor are in their villages. The other option is to engage non-governmental organizations along with panchayats to carry out surveys. Such work should never be entrusted to government officers. Otherwise, such surveys will turn into a play of money and the whims of officials who have little knowledge about poor persons who live in villages.

— Sebastian Devasia

I am not familiar with Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom’s work (A Nobel story in south India, Mint, 14 October), but surely you are not suggesting that Wall Street can be compared with Kottapalle, Andhra Pradesh?

It is one thing to have individuals pool together their resources and share the ensuing benefits in the context of an irrigation project. For in a village setting, individuals are likely to know each other, thus enabling violators to be identified and inculpated, especially if everyone’s resource endowments are similar. The task of administering justice can probably be entrusted to the village headman. Individuals might even share some common environmental goals relating to water management, further preventing predatory behaviour.

On the other hand, the hedonist behaviour witnessed on Wall Street, typified by the voracious pursuit of short-term profit, necessitates strict government oversight. Otherwise, small investors will be left continually at the mercy of large ones.

– Vishva Bindlish

It is known that our farming community has no alternative except to borrow money from moneylenders in rural areas despite the huge interest charged by them (Leave the moneylenders alone, Mint, 12 October). This practice is thoroughly entrenched in rural areas as public sector banks are of little help in meeting credit needs. This can be attributed to apprehension in the minds of bankers about the prospects of recovering the loan. A harsh documentation process, coupled with delays in decision making, forces marginal farmers to look for other avenues.

The very purposes of establishing public banks are defeated thanks to their stringent lending norms, as stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India. The so-called relationship banking is presently skewed in favour of urban customers. The setting up of the present committee to check moneylenders is not something new; on earlier occasions too, the government had set up many committees. But no permanent solution has been found till date. Hence, hapless farmers have no alternative but to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates.

The buzzword “financial inclusion” has come into prominence in the country very recently. The indirect objective of setting up grameen banks has been financial inclusion, but no thought has been given to this important aspect even after 60 years of independence. Had it been evolved and put into practice long back, this problem would not have arisen. Instead of squeezing moneylenders, it is time the government mandated streamlining of lending practices to offer permanent help to farmers.

– K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

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Your turn to talk

We thank our readers for some very interesting letters in response to our stories and columns. Do continue to write to us at yourviews@livemint.com

Reducing the poor to numbers

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:54:00 GMT

With rising food insecurity, the proportion of the poor will definitely soar (“Who count as India’s poor?” Mint, 2 October). The same is true for those classified as vulnerable and stressed. It is deplorable that our representatives fight like cats and dogs over statistics and their reliability. This is nothing but a cheap attempt to justify ratios and proportions established by surveys and censuses, and by so-called think tanks who undertake the task of achieving “comfortable numbers to play with”. This act of putting the cart before the horse jeopardizes many lives while Nero enjoys his fiddle. An attempt to place 50% of the population below the poverty line is not only a welcome relief but pro-human and pro-life.

— Rohit Saroj

This letter refers to Mrinal Pande’s thought-provoking article “Caste in a new mould ” (Mint, 9 October). After 62 years of Independence, Dalit exploitation continues even if the setting and players are different: refreshingly, not the usual whipping boys but the Brahmins. If the Plan projects from the 1950s onwards have made people richer, the ingenuity of the latter-day politicians in introducing an ever expanding “OBC” (other backward class) list has given them a doubly assured vote bank.

The article refers to the killing of 16 villagers in Bihar (Khagaria district), originating in “land ownership and use”, an area in which our post-Independence leaders enacted progressive statutes. For example, Tamil Nadu (TN) is one of the early states which introduced the salutary principle, “land to the tiller”. Several hundred Brahmin mirasdars (landlords) had to part with the land to the actual tillers. TN has not looked back since then, even if the Brahmin mirasdars had to choose other livelihood options and even migrate. On the same principle, Kurmis of Bihar cannot cite their holding 500 bighas in Amausi if the Dalits were sharecroppers, managing and tilling the land for generations. Bihar’s agricultural and revenue departments are sufficiently endowed for ascertaining the factual situation and deciding the issue. It is a grave mistake on their part to have let the situation result in mass killings. Will the Dalits of Amausi ever get the ownership of the land which they have been tilling for several generations?

Pande has also touched on the role of education. The Brahmin intellectual and statesman Rajaji, during his TN chief ministership, introduced an educational system —earn while you learn —whereby all would get primary and secondary education while learning their family craftsmanship, which was vital for livelihood until their education was completed. This would have avoided the worrying phenomenon of increasing school dropouts, but he was unjustifiably branded as a perpetrator of caste system. It is a little-known fact that long afterwards, even in Britain, the New Labour intellectuals of Tony Blair proposed a similar system for its citizens to enjoy the fruits of the “knowledge economy”.

Until political powers stop viewing Dalit uplift as a vote bank issue—or stop perpetrating the caste system by continuously expanding the grouping called OBC—caste will not die nor will Dalits see progress. The West is using the “human rights movement” to cash in on our miseries, which we are trying to cure. This is one more area where the government has failed in the international arena.

Sadly, this festering issue is witnessing a theatrical display. Lately, Dalits and their neighbourhoods are being turned into tourist, picnic or pilgrimage spots by politicians wanting to be noticed by their leaders. It is an amusing spectacle to notice “mentions” that they should not carry separate tiffin boxes but partake in the frugal meals of the Dalits, and sleep on their humble charpoys. What an innovative way to treat this festering sore.

— S. Subramanyan

Cricket at a crossroads

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:06:00 GMT

The waning popularity of one-day cricket is mainly due to the fact that the game is now at a crossroads, and three different forms are being played in and out of season, leaving the average spectator confused (“One-day cricket’s challenge,” Mint, 29 September). Contrast this with the game of baseball, played in the US. The 100-year-old game has practically remained unchanged. Because of income generated by sharing revenues from a pool of Internet and TV rights, the franchises, which could never hope to compete for the World Series can attract young talent. These teams offer stiff competition to those which once held a monopoly. From 2001 onwards, no team has emerged as the World Series champion more than once, except for the Boston Red Sox.

— M.K. Subba Rao

I do agree that there is no sense in naming a pricey pen, Mont Blanc’s 24 series, on Mahatma Gandhi, as all his life he lived with utmost simplicity (“Marketing the Mahatma,” Mint, 5 October). If we want to promote his philosophy, then there are far more substantial ways to follow what he preached. I do not think a pen—that too, such a costly one—would be helpful in making our lives more meaningful and less violent. We should not forget that we need to make a small difference to the lives of the needy rather than just buying materials named after Gandhi. There is a strong point in your question about why a politician can use Gandhi’s name but corporations cannot. What the government does is try to cash in on his name to the fullest extent —without ensuring his principles are followed. It is ironical, to say the least.

— Bal Govind

The view of a former director of finance of Air India, quoted in your article, that the government has let down the Air India chairman is correct (“Air India resolution puts Jadhav in a bind,” Mint, 1 October). Air India would not have taken the tough steps without the informal clearance from the ministry. That the government intervened in the matter in such a theatrical fashion hurts any further cost control measures by the management, which are so vital for survival of the ailing airline.

Normally, CEOs are not shuffled during merger exercises. The CEO at the time of setting up National Aviation Co. of India Ltd was changed, and the one who succeeded him had to go last year because he had differences with the ministry. Now, his successor has been sapped of his enthusiasm and energy to make the merger a success.

This is hardly the way the government should manage the merger exercise. It’s time, therefore, for Parliament to demand ministerial accountability for the poor way the merger exercise has been handled. This is the least the public can expect. Will the opposition parties in Parliament demand this when it assembles for the winter session?

— S. Subramanyan

This article is very useful in that it highlights the fallacious ways of measuring the numbers of the poor, and the interests involved (“Who count as India’s poor?” Mint, 2 October).

Anecdotal evidence shows that there are actually “targets” as to how many below the poverty line families can be identified in a particular village—this may not have been intended by the Union Government but the local petty bureaucrats may have devised this as a measure of controlling the numbers of beneficiaries.

We suffer from a collective lack of social conscience, a lack of realization that our nation is riding upon the hugely under-paid labour of millions of socially marginalized people.

That is why the middle class-dominated government looks askance at the budgeted amounts to provide social security to such people.

— Jashodhara

Excuses for higher pay

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:17:00 GMT

You stated that some of the IIT faculty are leading minds in their respective fields and that there is a significant opportunity cost for them to continue as faculty (“Roses, IIT teachers and strikes,” Mint, 23 September). The question is: if the faculty concerned are the most talented, why should they hang on to faculty positions? What prevents them from taking up industry positions? If, as you say, they can make multiples of their salaries in the private sector, they can go ahead and join business. The fact that they hang on to academic positions proves their inability to take up the hard challenges of an industry job. Mere oratory and research skills (that some of the faculty exhibit as proof of their talent) cannot be a substitute for a hard job in industry.

— K.V. Rao

Your article suggests Air India (AI) will be back on the rails if employees are disciplined (“Getting AI back on the rails,” Mint, 30 September). Though there is a case for pruning staff strength and emoluments, the malady lies deeper. There has been no accountability and the government has not kept a check on the operations.

Profitable areas and routes had been given away smacking of inefficiency or corruption. The airline has been running in an unprofessional manner. Unless the whole gamut is reworked and the ministry of civil aviation keeps a sharp eye, AI will never get back to normalcy.

— S. Padmanabhan

Switching sides is not uncommon in politics (“The decline of political parties,” Mint, 29 September). This started in the year 1967 when Indira Gandhi floated her own party by bidding goodbye to the old Congress party, and the legacy seems to continue.

This contagious disease spread to other parties over time and had reached dizzy heights in the recent elections. Even hard-core loyalists are parting ways and forming unholy alliances just to perpetuate their family rule at the expense of India. Unfortunately, the electorate has not shown an aversion to these practices.

Political parties in India lost their brand values long back, and only family names are ruling the roost. This is a common phenomenon throughout the country, and in the future, this trend will be perpetuated.

These developments will certainly cast a shadow on Indian democracy due to the myopic views taken by our leaders to maintain their family identity at any cost.

When it comes to a comparison of personalized politics in India with that of US, I do not fully subscribe to the views of the article: In India our leaders are more aggressive in satisfying their family needs and preventing prospective candidates from contesting elections—considering family rule a right. In the process, a lot of damage is caused to state and national priorities.

— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

The Air India pilots went on a strike after a reduction of their existing levels of income. In a country such as ours, where revolutions do not take place and only gradual increments are accepted, how can the managing director of National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil) approve reductions in income to the extent of 50-70%?

Daily losses due to the strike incurred by Nacil should be recouped from the erring pilots, as they are the cause for losses, which are more than just financial ones.

And those pilots that acted against the laws of the land should be sacked and legal proceedings be instituted against them. If the existing laws do not allow to recoup the losses caused by the pilots, new laws should be brought on to the books.

The final point: does the minister for civil aviation have the necessary political will to act?

— Satyanarayana Gavarasana

Not such a patent misfit

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:49:00 GMT

A patent, in itself, is worthless unless backed by a strong will to enforce it (“An idea that’s a patent misfit”, Mint, 23 September). The main reason that commercialization of patents in India remains weak is because the enforcement mechanism—our civil court system—takes years to decide on patent suits; the damages awarded may not provide an attractive return profile for the patent holder to litigate. By transferring ownership of patents to academic institutions, hopefully, the Bill will encourage the creation of patent pools. The owners of such pools will then have the scale and royalty stream to go after those who infringe patents. This might then encourage commercially relevant research, setting up a virtuous cycle. So the Bill is not such a patent misfit after all!

— Shyam Sunder

The concern of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), India’s insurance sector regulator, that insurers should watch their costs and the emphasis on better disclosure are positive indications (“Irda preparing norms for valuations, disclosures”, Mint, 19 September). This is especially positive when insurance companies are planning to tap the initial public offering (IPO) market and the government is thinking of further liberalizing the industry.

It has been almost a decade since the insurance industry was opened up. As early as 1967, the government appointed a committee (popularly known as the Morarka committee), with actuaries and a regulator’s representative on it, to suggest measures for controlling the expenses of Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC). Now that new insurers are likely to come to the market—and, in keeping with the current trend, with a hefty premium on their shares—it may be necessary to go beyond fixing better disclosure norms.

It will be necessary, therefore, for the government to set up a similar committee to go into the functioning of insurers—including the private ones (who are coming to the IPO market)—which will throw light not only on their financial soundness, but also on the expertise they have obtained from their foreign partners, their reach and operations. The market climate also would have improved by the time the report of such a committee is available. Such a report, along with the regulators’ well-thought-out disclosure norms, will be useful for investors and the public and, more importantly, will allow Parliament to reach an early decision on further liberalizing the insurance industry.

— S. Subramanyan

US President Barack Obama’s first address to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly was a much-awaited event, since he was expected to chart out a different approach to global affairs than his disgraced predecessor. Be it his address on race relations during his presidential campaign, his victory speech on 4 November, his inaugural address or his speech on nuclear disarmament in Prague, all have been touted as heralding a new age for the US and the world.

However, a close examination of the content of these speeches shows a plan that remains quite similar, in many respects, to that of his predecessor. Obama’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, where the US would like to see “two states living side by side”, is taken verbatim from any of George Bush’s talking points over the past eight years. Where Obama stands out, however, is on his approach on climate change.

For India, the UN speech was not music to the ears. Obama’s tough line on nuclear proliferation treaties and on climate change indicate a relationship that will see its fair share of ups and downs. While India is being feted as a major ally in the Obama administration, Obama will not bow to Indian pressure on issues such as climate change and nuclear non-proliferation, given the internal pressures he faces within the US Democratic Party.

— Karan Thakur

Green shoots in India

Your view — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:59:00 GMT

If advance tax collections are any indication, then the Indian economy is certainly on the right track because there is a huge increase of 20% compared with last fiscal’s second quarter data (“Advance tax & green shoots”, Mint, 17 September). I do agree with your suggestion that it might have been possible because of cheap money and government support. And though the drought will have some impact on consumption patterns in rural India, I still feel that there will not be too much of an impact. Moreover, as you suggested, bridging the Rs4 trillion fiscal deficit seems to be practically impossible; but it would be good if we can decrease the deficit as much as possible. Considering we have not suffered as much as the West, this should not be a problem for us.

— Bal Govind

Like performance bonuses in the manufacturing or service sectors, certain benchmarks should be put in place to stimulate teachers (“Encouraging our educators”, Mint, 14 September).

In this regard, we can take the example of China, which is reaping the benefits of its free education policy, introduced in 1986. China’s efforts yielded rich dividends as school enrolment across the country reached 98%. The Chinese government could shorten the gap between the quality of urban and rural teachers by improving rural teachers’ economic and social status. In the process, it has ensured wage parity between local civil servants and teachers.

Of course, India need not copy-paste China’s experience, but we should devise our own standards to create a similar atmosphere in schools and colleges. Competition among teachers working in different schools at the district level can be tried; those teachers who get a good grading can be rewarded on Teachers’ Day. Certain budgetary allocations can be made by district administrations to reward quality teachers.

— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

The time has come to seriously review New Delhi’s preparedness for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Doubts on the preparedness have now been expressed openly. Many facilities will be in an unfinished stage. Many may even be unsafe, even for the duration of the Games. Delhi is notorious for traffic jams on ordinary days; when the Games are held, there will be more traffic. Added to this will be the ever-present terror threat.

Considering all this, it is time to call off the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. If any other country or city has a ready facility and is willing to conduct the Games, India should withdraw gracefully. The government should not stand on a sense of false prestige.

— K. Venkataraman

In Tamal Bandyopadhyay’s interview with former Reserve Bank of India governor Y.V. Reddy (“US-UK are hijacking G-20 agenda”, Mint, 14 September), it’s really delightful to see some balanced words of wisdom at a time when the print and electronic media are ablaze with deceptive analyses and quack diagnoses.

Reddy, labelled a diehard conservative, has shown the mettle of a true central banker. His tenure, coinciding with an era of exuberant affluence, had seen some of the most austere measures ever taken by central banks. He followed a tight money policy at a time when all his counterparts, including the legendary Alan Greenspan, revelled in unleashing credit. His policies are reflective of his deeply contemplative mood in search of the right balance—between affluence and greed, growth and equity, risk and return, and stability and regulation.

It is surprising that at a time when men of extraordinary insight and ideas should be treated as premium assets in terms of sourcing policy inputs, Reddy is still outside any formal body responsible for policymaking or advice. Not learning a lesson may be a mistake, but refusing to learn is a crime.

— S.K. Giri

Andhra Pradesh’s leadership deficit

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:23:00 GMT

You have rightly pointed out that Andhra Pradesh (AP) is suddenly bankrupt—bankrupt of leadership (“Congress, democracy and AP,” 8 September). I’m unable to understand the AP Congress legislators’ pleading for the novice Jagan Mohan Reddy not only to lead them but also to rule the state. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s tackling Naxalites or uplifting the weaker sections of society was not a joke. The big question is: Can Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was initiated into politics only in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, be suitable for the post of chief minister? To avoid such embarrassment and for the smooth running of the government, Jagan Mohan should cooperate with Sonia Gandhi to take a decision for the state to fulfil the dream of YSR.

— Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee

Nirvikar Singh’s column “From outlays to outcomes” (Mint, 7 September) evokes interest and raises many questions, some quite deep.

My first comment is that life is more than just markets. When we consider effort and reward, attention must be paid to both markets and society. A market can only reward what a society permits.

If the poor (“unconnected”) are damned to inter-generational poverty on account of social discrimination or lack of access to facilities, the market is not going to come to their rescue. Equal access to health, education and opportunities is fundamental to securing “equity” in markets. A multi-racial, caste-ridden, developing country such as India must swear by equal opportunity programmes in its budgetary policies.

Second, and I believe an important question, is whether the rural NREGA-type spending is “wealth creating”. I fear the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is both unsustainable and inefficient. It is unsustainable both because the government does not have the wherewithal to carry the rural poor on its back forever, and because NREGA in itself does not create “rural wealth”. Besides favouring labour-intensive techniques and projects, NREGA has raised rural wages. Its withdrawal will also pull down wages along with the fortunes of the rural poor.

The article dwells on the role of the public in monitoring budget outlays and outcomes. Clearly, it is insufficient to merely monitor and report the inadequacies; it is just as important that the public and the academia have the means to force the government to recognize its wrongs and, crucially, undertake corrective action. To this end, let me propose a solution: Let us appoint an external panel of “budget judges” —comprising nominees from the academia, think tanks and trade associations—who are invited to participate in the annual budget discussions and the vote, if online. Their “nay” vote, if passed with three-fourths majority, should force the government to review and re-present its budget. This would ensure the budget is not merely an exercise in political duplicity forced on the people of India by bipartisan deceit.

On the issue of tax revenues and spending, I agree that taxes should originate, accrue and be spent locally, rather than be collected and channelled to the Centre before it is recycled to the lower levels of the government. The “local solution” reduces bureaucratic delays and improves the efficiency of revenue-based government services.

Despite your optimism, I remain unconvinced that IT-enabled infrastructure is the cornerstone of government reform in India. Even a world-class IT infrastructure can only serve to hasten doom if the policies adopted by our ministers are misguided—and I hardly need to remind you of the “efficacy” of the UPA policies!

The answer lies in the active participation of the academia and think tanks in the design of rules, regulations, policies and, indeed, the budget.

— Ganga Prasad G. Rao

A fresh focus for India’s unique ID

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:50:00 GMT

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will succeed once its focus has changed from “securing the borders” to “delivering to citizens”. The National Democratic Alliance started the project mainly to differentiate between citizens and aliens, launching it from border districts. The United Progressive Alliance seems to have understood that the real benefit of the project will come when it starts from within the country and then spreads outwards. The second aspect that can make it a success will be to make it attractive for people to get registered on their own, instead of the state chasing them. Once various agencies start demanding their identification number, citizens will hurry to get registered.

— Anand Gupta

I do not agree with the analysis of the banking sector by Madan Sabnavis in his article “An inadequate capital measure” (Mint, 9 September). As a banking analyst, I can’t agree with how he relates capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and non-performing assets (NPAs).

Sabnavis has taken the gross NPA number and CAR, which includes the capital and disclosed reserves. By disclosed reserves it is fair to assume that they include the balance from the profit and loss account. If one goes through some basics, the banks deduct some money from the gross NPAs to arrive at net NPAs and the money deducted is charged to the profit and loss account to arrive at net profit level, which is then added on to the disclosed reserves.

So taking the gross NPA number is, I believe, misleading and not correct. He might have chosen the net NPA ratio to establish his argument. But in that case his self-made “knock-out ratio” will be much less because the net NPA figures for most banks are approximately 10-40% of the gross NPA numbers. So the final outcome and views will clearly differ if he had taken the appropriate input for his calculation.

Having said that, we need to know that banking involves risks and if one takes net NPAs as a yardstick, Sabnavis’ knock-out ratio will be below 10% for most banks, which I believe is a normal thing.

— Jai Prakash Toshniwal

Your editorial on the strike by Jet Airways pilots (“Jet Airways’ labour lost”, Mint, 11 September) is myopic. Are you saying that the relatively well-paid give up their right to express themselves through a collective body? Don’t they have the right to express themselves through such bodies? Chairman of Jet Airways Naresh Goyal, along with other owners and senior executives of private airlines, just did that recently when they threatened to go on strike. You should have pointed out that an industry of this size and our economy in general will have to deal with various unions. To argue against such formations is retrograde.

—S. Padmanabhan

While 85% of India’s population is without any form of healthcare, and there is dire need for affordable healthcare, a national scheme is not the answer (Gulzar Natarajan, “A national healthcare scheme”, Mint, 8 September).

The government already has several schemes to meet the healthcare needs of the poor. But it does not need to provide this “free” health insurance for all Indians. There is a large and expanding middle class in India, which can well afford an annual premium for healthcare insurance. This segment of the population does not need the government’s help to pay for its healthcare expenses. In fact, if the government were to pay for their healthcare, these citizens will likely not have the incentive to remain healthy. If they are paying for their own care they are more likely to make lifestyle changes that keep them healthy and decrease the onset of sickness.

It is competition that will reduce the cost of healthcare, not a national health insurance scheme.

— Mandeep Maini

YSR’s legacy in Andhra Pradesh

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:27:00 GMT

The last five years in Andhra Pradesh politics have shown that Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, or YSR, was really a one-man army. He not only brought Congress to power in the state but immensely helped all 33 members of Parliament in winning their seats, eventually making Andhra Pradesh the largest contributor to the Congress’ overall Lok Sabha tally. He was the man of the masses who himself developed a few schemes and ensured its delivery to the needy. Not only that, he ensured that the economy of the state grew rapidly during his tenure to establish it as one of the best states in the country. Now that he is gone, Congress will have a very tough time finding his successor—no one can fill his big shoes.

— Bal Govind

I find your suggestions in “Fixing a financial system” (Mint, 7 September) reflecting an incomplete knowledge of how banking systems and regulators interact, and frankly find it a bit disturbing to read on Mint’s Page 1.

Innovation is part and parcel of life at investment banks and leads to multitudes of exotic financial products being created. In free markets, regulators for the most part are reactive agents who often cannot attract people of the calibre or seniority to understand and unwind the complex securities created by bankers. Even if they can, it is often too late. Having every product regulated and transparent is not the answer, as you curb innovation and most likely will end up throwing the baby out with the bath water.

So regulation is not the answer and, as you mention, capping pay isn’t either. However, linking rewards to long-term returns is certainly closer to the answer. Vested bonus programmes linked to security performance could alleviate some of the short-term problems, and this is where the focus of new regulation should be.

You also mention that excessive pay was not what caused Lehman Brothers to fail. I beg to differ—somewhere along the line, someone saw the bonus potential of peddling sub-prime mortgage-backed securities without fully doing the due diligence on these products that should have been done.

If bonuses had been linked to long-run profitability and performance of these securities, rather than volume or value of securities sold in a fiscal year, we probably would have been looking at a very different economic scenario today.

— Ashish Khanna

I was pained to read the news story “HC nixes legal challenge on airport levies” (Mint, 27 August). I think the entire picture has not been looked at. The user development fee is just the thin end of the wedge.

At Mumbai airport, the developer has now hiked parking charges from Rs30 to Rs60 without providing any extra benefit. In fact, parking is now more chaotic. The price of tea or coffee, which was available for Rs4-5 when the Airports Authority of India (AAI) ran the airport, has now shot up to Rs30—a 600% increase. The private developer is driven by greed and this is apparent at, say, London’s Heathrow where a greedy operator increased operations without adding infrastructure.

Almost all over the world, airport privatization has made the experience for passengers worse, and increased costs. Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris had a stairway collapse a few years ago, and Air India aircraft often do not get a dock at Frankfurt or London. Heathrow’s duty-free shops are so expensive that one concessionaire told me that the goods were duty-free but not profit-free.

I think the best way forward would be to stop all future public-private partnerships in airport development and let AAI do this with an injection of cash from the government. This will make flying cheaper and more comfortable.

— Raj Khalid

More than just a football match

Your view — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:46:00 GMT

Much more is involved than “blowing the lid off land seizure” in the recent violence in a Kolkata football match (Mint, “Violence in village blows the lid off land seizure”, 25 August). Your reporters deserve appreciation for helping the public to begin looking at the problem deeply. What you refer to as an “innovative deal” may turn out to be a sellout of people’s interests and a draining of public revenues. Such innovative deals appear to be the normal way joint agreements are concluded . This is a larger issue confronting the nation when the government is encouraging the public-private partnership method of financing infrastructure and development. This is an example of what the world media describes when they call India “oligarchic” and “encouraging crony capitalism”.

—S. Subramanyan

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is incompetent, incoherent and something else, too (Mint, “The wind of the 100 days”, 28 August). That smug and arrogant look on their noses is back on the faces of all Congress leaders.

Anything and everything is sought to be explained away with convoluted logic without batting an eyelid. They are presumably inspired by the Prime Minister himself who merely read out a prepared text on the Indo-Pakistan joint statement without actually addressing the concerns and the queries raised. The UPA now seems to believe that it is no longer accountable or answerable; Congress governments in states such as Andhra Pradesh are following suit. Good luck in the form of the total disarray and chaos in the Bharatiya Janata Party and the humiliating beating received by the Left Front has resulted in the Opposition being totally marginalized; this is being mistaken for a divine right to infallibility.

The 100-day target seems to have produced more rhetoric and pompous pronouncements than anything of substance which could raise actual hope. But the severe drought which has now moved from a spectre to a grim reality; the continuing inability to contain Pakistan’s open connivance at terrorism directed at India; the rising tide of Maoist violence; the spate of credible allegations of corruption against ministers in the government are all swamps and quicksand lying in the path of this government. The smirks and the smiles are bound to be replaced by long faces, unless there is a resolve to do away with uttering mere platitudes on public platforms and actually doing something credible. Unless this smugness is shed, the wheel can come a full circle sooner than feared.

— N.S. Rajan

This is with reference to your editorial “Stability, but new challenges” (Mint, 1 September). The gross domestic product (GDP) data, the increase in inflow of foreign funds and the improvement in business confidence are positive indicators to draw an inference that the worst is over for the economy and that it is slowly stabilizing in the right direction. It was thought that tax cuts and a huge increase in government spending ensured economic growth in the country, but the high fiscal deficit will put brakes on our growth track. The underlying fact is that unless corporate investment picks up, the so-called V-shaped rebound will be difficult to achieve.

Hence, we cannot be complacent on what we have achieved in terms of GDP growth during the first quarter. A quarterly analysis might indicate a relative increase in the growth rate, but the issue is whether the same can be sustained, given the precarious state of drought conditions in the country. The expected drop in farm output may lead to food inflation.

The impact of drought will be far-reaching, as the livelihood of millions of people will be at stake. Keeping in view this fact, the government is planning to expand the scope of its flagship social security programme and to make its functioning more effective. This is a good move in the current circumstances.

In the coming quarters, both the government and the central bank should engage in fighting inflation and also ensure that the growth witnessed in the first quarter is maintained—this is certainly a daunting task for authorities.

— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

The BJP and Jaswant Singh

Your view — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:30:00 GMT

The media has been quite harsh on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its decision to expel Jaswant Singh. While some have condemned the process (the decision was conveyed on telephone), others have criticized the timing (on the same day the national convention began). The debate does not centre around Singh’s contribution to the party. He has been one of the undisputed leaders of the party. It is unfortunate that the party has been faced with a situation of continuing without him. Let us, however, note that Singh seemed to have asked the party for a reprimand by raking up this controversial issue and timing his book to hit the stands just before the chintan baithak or brainstorming session. So, the party organization had no choice but to expel him.

— K.V. Rao

People want to know why Jaswant Singh was not even given a chance to clarify and has been summarily expelled from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Meanwhile, for something similar, L.K. Advani was only warned.

The expulsion of Singh is a knee-jerk reaction because the day before his expulsion, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supremo Mohan Bhagwat’s criticism of the BJP’s internal function might have worried the party. The reason is not hard to decipher. The party does not want to face the wrath of the RSS and other pro-Hindu groups such as the Shiv Sena.

— Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee

The expulsion of veteran political leader Jaswant Singh for his controversial book Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence was totally unwarranted.

We are a democratic country, which gives us the freedom of speech and expression. It is the cardinal principle enunciated in article 19(1) of our Constitution.

Of course, the government can impose “reasonable restrictions”on it, if it is of the opinion that it is a threat to the integrity and sovereignty of our nation. But here, it is only an opinion of a political leader that has been conveyed through his book. It may be right or wrong for others. Nobody is compelled to read it.

A ban on a book means a ban on free thinking, which is a dangerous proposition in a democratic country.

— Salil Kumar

It happens probably too often in our country that we —or our system—has become immune to situations such as students burning a train in Bihar (“The burning train”, Mint, 20 August).

It is not the first time that public property has been destroyed. But there are only words of tough action —no real action takes place; that is the irony of it. And this has occurred not only in Bihar, but throughout the country.

The police do not book the culprits, or if they book them at all, they are let free soon. So, at the back of their minds they know that regardless of the damage they cause, they will not be punished.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has the golden opportunity of changing this mindset and punishing all the students who were behind this act.

— Bal Govind

It was interesting to read Salil Tripathi’s column, (“Veil and woman in France”, Mint, 20 August). While the existentialist dilemma that you have tried to underline has been contextualized more in the European context, there are writers in India—more so Muslim writers—who have started questioning its efficacy.

Hans, the Hindi literary magazine, in its August issue has brought out two such stories in poignant detail. In one of the stories, a mother chats with a friend sitting up late. Her 10-year-old son questions her wisdom in doing so, and the story ends with the mother wondering “whether her son is now forcing a veil on her”, or trying to curb the freedom that a cyber world is offering.

— Nalin Rai

India and Aung San Suu Kyi

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:03:00 GMT

It’s our misfortune that we are the world’s largest democracy but have remained a mute spectator as Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has spent over a decade and a half under house arrest in Myanmar. Suu Kyi’s commitment to true democracy for the Burmese people under the world’s most repressive regime looks hopeless. And the kangaroo court has recently sentenced her to another 18 months of house arrest. The economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar by the West have not resulted in any change. We can help to loosen the grip of the regime if we join Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in engaging the generals and persuading them to release political prisoners, in order to transition to a broad-based and popular rule.

— Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee

You have suggested taxing farmers for excessive use of groundwater or levying higher land revenue depending upon the crops grown (“Protecting our water supply,” Mint, 14 August). As you suggested, both will be almost impossible to implement. Since there are millions of tubewells, the withdrawal `of groundwater cannot be easily measured. It would be best to fix the groundwater level for each local area. A community can police individuals in a much better way than any other agency. This would encourage the community to go for water harvesting on a large scale and change the cropping pattern on their own so as to reduce the withdrawal of groundwater. A community found at fault with regard to the water level could be punished by a fine or some other way. The level should be fixed by a groundwater authority according to the local conditions but in a manner which would allow groundwater to rise every year until normal levels are reached. For the community to be able to take action, a number of laws already exist, but the authority to act and take responsibility which are provided in these laws has not been transferred by the bureaucrats. It is only the communities who can always convince the local politicians—who then can put the pressure on the government. It would, of course, be helpful if the subsidized rate of electricity and diesel were gradually increased to normal rates.

— G.N. Kathpalia

As reported, the predictions have been proven wrong on India’s prosperity as a nation (“ One nation, not twenty ,” Mint, 14 August). Some vested interests and foreign elements are keen that India should not be allowed to flourish.

But dangers also lie within the country as we face problems due to caste, religion and linguistic differences which often take centre stage and act as stumbling blocks in the process of development. These divisive forces should not be allowed to break this nation for the sake of satisfying their parochial needs. The younger generation should take the lead imbibing patriotism and nationalism, and show their commitment to a united India for the posterity to emulate. The spirit of oneness should be chanted like a mantra in all public platforms by our leaders — not necessarily at the time of seeking votes.

— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

What Jaswant Singh said might not sound good to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ears, but it might please some of his Muslim counterparts (“Misreading Jinnah’s life ,” Mint, 18 August). I am sure that not only will this start a fresh debate over who was responsible for the creation of Pakistan, but it will help the sale of his latest book. As far as the BJP’s approach of rereading Jinnah’s life goes, I do not think it is going to add any value to the party’s future potential as a political outfit.

— Bal Govind

Fighting the drought devil

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:30:00 GMT

This refers to the Quick Edit “Decoupling from Drought” (Mint, 12 August). Even though we cannot panic, what is now worrisome is the famine conditions that will ultimately cause untold misery to the poor and middle class—unless the government takes concrete steps to mitigate the hardship. As reported, the rural economy might be insulated to some extent against drought conditions, but the reality is that staple food may not available at reasonable prices because of low output, speculation and hoarding. Hence, it is difficult to escape from the clutches of the drought devil if the bad monsoon prolongs beyond the kharif season this year. Decoupling from drought is possible through proactive steps that need to be taken by the government early—not after the occurrence of suicide deaths and agitations.

— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

The news story, “Will Ambani case hit Deora sales pitch?” (Mint, 10 August), highlights the challenge faced by the Union petroleum minister as he seeks global investors for the eighth round of auctions of oil and gas blocks. None of the global investors such as Shell and ExxonMobil has shown any interest in the process because of the openly partisan stand of the ministry in the ongoing Ambani gas dispute. By tinkering with its own policy on gas price fixation and marketing in the RNRL-RIL matter, the ministry has made its task even more difficult for future auctions.

The Ambani case has evoked widespread interest abroad and global investors have watched as Deora has shuffled from one position to another in order to protect RIL, with which he has a long history. It will be a Herculean task for Deora and his officials in the ministry to now expect companies to invest billions of dollars in gas exploration without allowing the companies themselves to fix the price at which and the buyers to whom they can sell. The government has no one but itself to blame for messing up this high-stakes game. It has to make amends fast if it needs to attract foreign investment in this vital sector.

— Rishi Chugh

Arvind Jadhav is absolutely right in sending the message to his staff at Air India that there is no free lunch (“Turning around Air India”, 10 August). The message is that one has to perform to stay relevant and remain in the race, since competition in the aviation sector is cut-throat. To minimize the huge losses incurred by the national carrier, Jadhav needs to explore the following:

·Reduce the turnaround time and utilize the existing fleet for more numbers of flights in a day—to earn more revenue;

·No incentive should be given to any employee, whatever the reasons and whatever the implications;

·Jadhav should be given free hand by the government to restructure the business model;

·No more fleet addition should take place until the time we see some turnaround sign and until the existing fleet has been utilized to the hilt.

— Bal Govind

The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), the government’s chief negotiating representative, at one point appeared to agree to a 30% increase in the wages of the bank employees. But it has now agreed to a 13% increase, which is not acceptable to the United Forum of Bank Unions. This led public sector bank employees to go on a two-day strike. Such irresponsible behaviour not only affects customers, but also stifles business and paralyzes the country’s economy.

Agreed: these bank employees are paid less compared with the Union government staff and other public sector employees. But the timing of the strike was wrong. There is an acute worldwide recession where thousands have lost their jobs, or even taken severe pay cuts. When IBA knows that the wage settlement of bank employees is due for revision, it should have come to a negotiated settlement, avoiding a further strike.

— Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee

Incentives at Air India and BSNL

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:42:00 GMT

Though politics and administrative delays are indeed critical reasons for BSNL’s and Air India’s declines, the vicious circle this interference has created in terms of lack of competence and willingness by top management at these companies is also to blame. Not many executives at these companies want to compete with the burgeoning and highly competitive private sector firms. They assume that the government will bail them out. Incentives are misaligned as these government agencies do not have reason to perform vis-a-vis their private sector counterparts.

— Yugal Joshi

As petroleum minister Murli Deora asserted, the present tussle between the Ambani brothers might be a personal dispute but its ramifications are still far wider (“An unnerving silence”, Mint, 4 August).

The issue has rocked the Lok Sabha on the pricing of gas supply to Anil Ambani’s Dadri power project in Uttar Pradesh (UP). It is no surprise that one section of members of Parliament from UP cried foul at the injustice to their home state. It is unfortunate that both industrialists are taking the country for a ride and want to enjoy a monopoly of power at the cost of national wealth. A country’s sovereign national resources cannot be mortgaged for the sake of satisfying narrow objectives. Your piece suggested that the boards of both companies should speak on this matter in the interest of shareholders. It is quite natural that the board members will take a decision to protect the companies they represent. Now, we have to wait for the decision of the apex court and, until such time, charges and counter-charges will hit the headlines, negating development phase.

— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

“Wall Street’s need for a return to character” by Govind Sankaranarayanan (Mint, 31 July) reminded me that someone said once, “Your character is my destiny”. This is applicable to financial experts on Wall Street who have destroyed millions in hard-earned wealth.

Consider the fall of banks in the US, where financial knowledge was born, nurtured and spread across the world. Back home, Indian banks have withstood the global turmoil in finance, thanks to the wisdom of the Reserve Bank of India in showering appropriate regulation.

This is despite the interference by our political bosses in New Delhi with regard to certain aspects of banks, especially in the public sector.

But our markets are as bad as global markets. When the market is going up, they will continue to do so. When the markets fall, people mindlessly shun the very same investments that they chased during the peak. The secret of success in investments by financial legends such as Warren Buffett or George Soros lies in their ability to distinguish between facts and mood. We can learn by reflection, or by simple feedback, or we can wait for some debacle.

The success depends upon our ability to manage—not control—our emotions and to have an approach based on data.

— K.V. Rao

The truth about telecom

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:33:00 GMT

It seems the mobile number portability (MNP) process and fee will be so unreasonable that a sane subscriber would not be willing to switch the service provider. In a country where average recharge is less than Rs50, we cannot expect subscribers to pay in excess of Rs200 to change service providers. Moreover, the change would take three-seven days—which itself is a hindrance, and it remains to be seen whether MNP turns out to be the game changer it was touted as earlier. Moreover, apart from spectrum advantage, the service level of almost all subscribers is hardly differentiated in India. Telecom is based more on brand communication and inertia-based subscriber loyalty, which would not change much in the near future.

— Yugal Joshi

This refers to the Quick Edit, “Capital reason to exit banks” (Mint, 23 July). In order to comply with Basel II norms, Indian banks need to meet capital adequacy criteria to safeguard the interest of deposit holders, and also to enable the lending of money to borrowers. In this connection, I would like to make a reference to the government’s intention to go ahead with the pumping of funds into public sector units (PSUs) such as Air India to the tune of Rs15,000 crore. It is not known whether the infusion of funds into these PSUs is linked to productivity and accountability. The same funds, if deployed in banks, carry with them an automatic commitment to safeguard the interest of deposit holders.

Capital infusion into banks is very much required but, at the same time, the need to contain the fiscal deficit cannot be ignored. Else, the widening deficit will reach alarming proportions—and become very difficult at a later stage to control. And unless there is buoyancy in tax collections, given the recessionary conditions still haunting the country’s economic development, it will be difficult to achieve the targets.

— K.N.V.S. Subrahmanyam

The Indian and Pakistani prime ministers met in the Egyptian town of Sharm-el-Sheikh this month—a meet which was billed as an occasion when India would read the riot act to Pakistan, following the latter’s failure to prosecute terror perpetrators and take action against the executioners of the 26/11 attack. Yet, the outcome has been disappointing.

Diplomacy and foreign policy are driven by the twin principles of pragmatism and national interest. A third variable may be trust based on the bedrock of evidence. At the moment, India’s policy towards Pakistan seems to fly in the face of all three principles. The 2006 Havana round of talks were preceded by the train bombings of 7/11 in Mumbai. The Prime Minister then talked tough, albeit on Indian soil or on board his aircraft, only to capitulate in Havana while setting up the contentious joint terror mechanism—which itself was given a decent burial after Pakistan used it as a bargaining chip against India. We initiated numerous “people-to-people” contacts through rail and bus links, only to be betrayed by Pakistan with 26/11.

The Prime Minister then solemnly held that talks with Pakistan will not resume till the terror infrastructure is removed from Pakistan and till the Pakistani establishment ends support, covert and overt, to terror groups. Months have lapsed since a dossier indicting suspects has been handed over to our neighbour, only to see it indulge in doublespeak and the most vile sleight of hand. The question that arises to most minds is: Why, after repeated betrayals by Pakistan, does our Prime Minister offer a hand of friendship? What material benefit has India got from this unnecessary kid-glove approach to our neighbour? And, more importantly, where does the Prime Minister see Indo-Pak relations in the coming five years, given the Pakistani track record of the past five?

— Karan Thakur

Talking points with Pakistan

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:01:00 GMT

On the economic front, Pakistan has less than nothing to lose (“Foreign policy doldrums”, Mint, 20 July). To cover its economic incompetence, it periodically shows off nuclear toys and unleashes terror to impress its people. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seems to have played his cards right by pumping Pakistan’s ego to make it feel like a victor while at the same time making it culpable. If Pakistan has proof of India’s hand in Balochistan, India is obliged to clarify. Singh’s refusal would have confirmed India’s involvement. Pakistan has not gained an upper hand, whereas India has won the point. Despite diplomatic peddling, India has not been able to pin down Pakistan on various issues so far. Maybe Singh’s straight talk can.

— Inderjit

Gautam Bhatia presents a very well-articulated and well-woven perspective in “A big no to Tata Nano” (Mint, 20 July) on why the Nano will end up being just like any other product in the market.

Bhatia brings in the point about hybrid cars, energy-efficient technologies and optimized pricing.

However, when we discuss the expectations from the Tata Nano, we need to understand the reason for its genesis: The Nano is anticipated to be a poor man’s Toyota—a car that brings cheer to a larger Indian lower middle-class cohort. We, therefore, need to delineate greater expectations out of this creation.

That said, the author’s point about focusing on engineering cars that address macro issues such as the depletion of fossil fuel, fuel-efficient systems, or ergonomic design, for example, need to be taken up as a research and development project. This is not for Tata alone, but for the automotive sector in general—as a payback for all the pollution that cars manufactured by them cause.

— Vijaya Raaghavan Narasimhan

In your Quick Edit “Guilty as charged” (Mint, 21 July), you have rightly pointed out that hardly any terrorist confesses to heinous crimes. Maybe one of the reasons Mohammed Ajmal Kasab confessed in court was that the special court played the video coverage of the Mumbai terror attack.

People hope that after his confession, the trial will conclude soon and the verdict will be quickly delivered. Like you, I’m also hoping that the Indian justice system doesn’t work at a snail’s pace.

Also, to quell terrorism, we must take a leaf out of Chanakya’s book—1,000 years ago, he stated that the conspirators of any crime are even more guilty than the murderers themselves.

Therefore, based on Kasab’s confession, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government should look at the roots of this heinous crime.

With help from Pakistan, the UPA government can destroy terrorist dens for the safety and peace of the subcontinent.

— Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee

While the last five years have seen a dramatic mushrooming of universities to meet demand, the quality of education and lack of infrastructure and research collaboration are some elements that need to be monitored closely to match international benchmarks (“Teaching good regulation,” Mint, 20 July).

The dilemma in India is the blatant misuse of certification, regulation and accreditation to connote separate contexts depending on the situation.

Globally, there are multiple independent accreditation agencies in most countries that carry out the accreditation process.

Uniquely, in India, there are plenty of gaps. What we need today are multiple accreditation bodies based on the domains and skills at national and state levels.

Even if we take one small step in this direction, India could benefit a lot in the long run.

— Lokesh Mehra