<p>The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a bank as an entity set up for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money; for the extension of credit; and to facilitate the transmission of funds. But in this era of information technology, “banks will — whether through conviction or compulsion — have to transform into technology companies”, says Harun R. Khan, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India. That’s because you never know how developments in one industry can hit you. Cash-on-delivery proved to be a headache for e-commerce — it led to the coming of age of m-wallets which, in turn, now challenge debit cards as a product. It’s a wake-up call for the laggards — state-run banks. The top 30 processes in these banks account for around 50 per cent of back-office costs; and over 80 per cent of customer-facing activities. Going digital can help reap huge gains. By the way, “bank” also means a “pile” — if banks don’t wake up soon, they will soon be confined to the pile!<br><em>— Raghu Mohan</em><br> </p><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px;"><tbody><tr><td><strong><img alt="" src="http://bw-image.s3.amazonaws.com/men-and-women-in-handcuffs-shutterstock_300.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 133px; float: right;"></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>Dictators Of Democracy</strong><br>I read and re-read the news about Mumbai Police barging into hotel rooms and yanking out 40 couples who were not married and whom the police decided has no right to be together behind closed doors. Ironically, it is the police that is breaking the law here, and not the young couples. The moral policing is shocking enough in and of itself, but what is also chilling is that there has been barely any protest over this. The more we take of it, the more these dictators of democracy will feel justified in their interpretation of laws they don’t even seem to be acquainted with. How long is protest to be restricted to the television debate? Why is the government and the judiciary silent on this violation of personal privacy?<br><em>— Mala Bhargava</em><br><br><strong>More Than Just Startups</strong><br>Online food delivery startups such as BiteClub, HolaChef, CyberChef and Mealme are tapping ‘home-run’ kitchens and their ghar ka khana to serve customers in Delhi and Mumbai. Besides, Mumbai-based food ordering startup TinyOwl has launched an app just to connect home chefs to foodies. While it’s too early to comment on the business models of these startups, they need to be applauded for giving opportu nities to home chefs, who are mostly housewives, to become entrepreneurs. Until now, the work done by these housewives has not been counted among the goods and services that make up the gross domestic product of the country. But by recognising their culinary talents, these startups are helping them to become productive members of the economy. <br><em>— Sonal Khetarpal</em><br> </p><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="width: 200px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" src="http://bw-image.s3.amazonaws.com/Buying-Kerosene_RS-300.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 167px;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>Nurturing UPA’s Babies</strong><br>The direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, fathered by UPA II, is going places under the NDA regime. After the successful transfer of subsidies on LPG cylinder to the beneficiaries, efforts are under way for a nationwide rollout of DBT for kerosene and food grains by the Republic Day — a pilot project is set to be launched this Independence Day in the Union Territories of Puducherry, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Chandigarh. In fact, the expenditure management commission wants DBT to be extended to all government welfare schemes. As for kerosene, those currently availing PDS-distributed fuel will be offered either cash or account-linked DBT. The subsidy payout on kerosene has been capped at Rs 12 per litre for 2015-16; kerosene is sold through the public distribution system at Rs 15/litre, but has an actual cost of Rs 30 per litre. The difference is the revenue loss, which will be borne by the oil marketing companies. Lesson: making a scheme work on the ground is certainly more important than just laying claims to it.<br><em>— Ashish Sinha</em><br><br><strong>When More Means Safe</strong><br>The fall in Tata Motors’ revenues from its Jaguar Land Rover division should serve as an important lesson for the automaker — it is a risky proposition to depend on one brand alone to grow in the market. The company reported consolidated revenues of Rs 61,020 crore for the first quarter (April-June 2015), which was down 6 per cent from the corresponding quarter last year (Rs 64,683 crore). The growth of the Jaguar Land Rover brand in the Chinese market over the past few years has allowed Tata Motors to report high profit margins. However, the sharp decline in China volumes of Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc has hit the company’s revenues hard and, for the first time in 15 years, Tata Motors has decided not to pay dividend to its shareholders. One hopes that the Tata Motors management’s recent focus on the Indian market will result in more sustainable growth for the company in future.<br><em>— Neeraj Thakur</em><br><br><strong>Why GST Is Important</strong><br>The delay in bringing in the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) is hurting e-commerce marketplace companies more than others. Take the case of Amazon India, which has been prevented by the Karnataka government from using its warehouse. It wants the e-commerce player to register goods coming into the state and collect value added tax (VAT) from sellers. Its logic is merchants are selling on e-commerce sites without paying additional tax for using the platform. Amazon, on its part, maintains that since tax has already been paid on products at their point of origin, sellers cannot be taxed again in Karnataka. Besides, collecting tax on behalf of sellers would violate foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations, which clearly state that they are marketplaces and not retailing businesses. The GST is meant to end precisely this sort of hindrance to the free movement of goods across the country. It is supposed to create a single point-of-origin tax and rid the country of state taxes. More importantly, it will create supply chain efficiencies and destroy the stranglehold of trade lobbies on distribution, which is more important for the consumer.<br><em>— Vishal Krishna</em><br><br>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 07-09-2015)</p>
