Border commitments
This refers to ‘Indian, Chinese troops exchange sweets at several border points on Diwali’ (November 1). It was nice to learn that the troops of India and China exchanged sweets at all the five border personnel meeting points along the Line of Actual Control on the occasion of Diwali, a day after both countries completed troop disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh. While this is a positive gesture, one genuinely wishes that China duly honours its latest border commitments. The genesis behind such apprehensions could be traced back to its dubious track record. Since there may be no ultimate winners even in any full-fledged military war, one hopes China realises its folly of its frequent attempts to make inroads into our eastern region.
Kumar Gupt
Panchkula, Haryana
Encourage e-payments
This refers to the ‘Cash keeps pace with e-payments’ (October 31). While remarkable progress has been made by the Unified Payment Interface and other electronic payment systems, cash transactions are still at an elevated level. This indicates that electronic modes for settling payments are unfamiliar to many. Those residing in rural areas need to be made aware of the advantages and urge them to use electronic modes. The persisting black money economy is encouraging the use of cash for paying bribes, narcotics trade and funding terrorist activities. It is, therefore, imperative to control black money generation and simultaneously continue to strengthen the electronic modes for settling payments.
VSK Pillai
Changanacherry, Kerala
Investor education
This refers to ‘Retail investors need an education’ (October 31). Trading stocks demands a lot of knowledge in the functioning of companies and it cannot be anyone’s cup of tea. That retail traders lost ₹1.80 lakh crore during FY22-24 suggests that they were interested only in making a fast buck than knowing the intricacies of the stock market and handling them with aplomb. Depositing money with a nationalised bank can reap assured interest income to savers which is better than huge notional income from the stock market. After all, ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,’ to quote a familiar proverb.
S Ramakrishnasayee
Chennai
Addressing pollution
Over the years, pollution has been worsening, especially during the festive season of Diwali. Both compliance and enforcement of emission norms are abysmally low in Delhi and some cities. The article has rightly highlighted a multi-faceted approach — that is, implement a public transport policy, subsidies for electric vehicles, increase green spaces, etc — to address Delhi’s pollution woes. The effect of pollution on respiratory health is well known. Pollution in several cities in North India, especially during Diwali, surges to staggering levels. Playing down the ill-effects of fire crackers by comparing them with everyday vehicular pollution needs to be called out, given the staggering spike in pollution levels during the festival celebrations.
Vijay Singh Adhikari
Nainital, Uttarakhand