28.12.2007

• Mrs. Bhutto is no more
• It is so sad that the most leading moderate voice of Pakistan is put to silence by terrorists of Al Qaeda. An editorial comment in today’s ET on the traditional jirga-based tribal system of governing FATA and Waziristan in Pakistan is worth our note:
• Islamabad should realize that it cannot enforce the writ of the constitution in those areas through force alone. Of course, Islamist militancy would, in the first instance, have to be countered through military might. But the backward social consensus that supports such terror can be transformed only through a truly democratic political process.
• What better bet could have been there for Pakistan than Mrs. Bhutto for a truly democratic political process?
• What would be the size of the resulting behemoth if SBI carries out the merger of its subsidiaries with itself?
• The new entity will have 14,030 branches (almost 30% of scheduled commercial bank branches), 6441 ATMs (a little less than 25% of the country’s ATM network) and an asset base of Rs. 8,05,795 crores (more than all of the private sector banks).
• Get a picture of what ‘size’ means? Even then, compared with the global biggies, this is still miniscule. For example, take Citigroup’s figures:
• Total Net Revenues: $89.6 bn
• Assets: $1884 bn (as against SBI’s $200 bn approx.)
• Market capitalization: $274 bn
• Employees: 3,27,000
• Operations: In over 100 countries worldwide
• Can you give some strong reasons why the STPI scheme should not be continued? Look at these points from today’s debate:
• Research shows that, for maximizing the effects of tax incentives, they should be offered for a limited period.
• Continued tax exemptions to STPIs, due to their revenue implications, would make difficult meeting of the targets set by the FRBM Act, thwarting prudent fiscal policy.
• Such sops are effectively subsidies to exporters, and are challenged in international fora such as WTO.
• Many of the Indian software sector’s problems span beyond tax exemptions. They include workforce shortages, rising costs of real estate etc. Tax exemption is like treating the symptom while ignoring the underlying disease.
• “Development” as defined by Amrtya Sen
• Development is an enabler of human freedoms and well-being, rather than a mere enhancement of inanimate objects of convenience. It is inseparable from environmental and ecological concerns such as clean air and water, epidemic-free surroundings, and the preservation of all life forms.
• South Asia’s first underground LPG storage facility
• It is commissioned at Visakhapatnam. It is a 50:50 joint venture between HPCL and Total of France. It is a Rs. 333 crore project designed on ‘water containment principle.’