Trump’s Iowa win
Apropos the article ‘An unexpected landslide in Iowa for Trump’ (January 17), former President Donald Trump seeking the Republican nomination for a second run for the White House made a predictable start with a win in the first primary in Iowa.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley trailed much behind.
Trump played a victim card of having lost the election in November 2020 which favoured him.
It appears Trump will not spend much energy over the primaries as he is quite sure that people at large especially the Republicans, the conservatives in general and whites in particular will back him fervently. The magnitude of his victory also makes it much harder for his distant rivals to claim any true momentum coming out of Iowa.
Gregory Fernandes
Mumbai
Debt concerns
Apropos the article ‘India’s debt pie needs watching’ (January 27), Indian financial market accords priority to debt while the funds through equity mode is not sufficient for creating needed capex.
Long term borrowing will fill the fund gap caused by paucity in equity market. Government borrows to cope up the fiscal slippages in the long term borrowing market. Corporate borrowers also seek debt funds which also reduces their equity base. High rate of interest on debt dents corporate profitability and increases the government’s fiscal burden.
The interest payout both on Government and Corporate debts runs at around ₹35-lakh crore.
Such huge commitment creates a concern and must be brought under manageable figures.
NR Nagarajan
Sivakasi
Micro-nuclear options
This refers to the news item Enabling ‘tens of thousands of micro nuclear reactors’ (January 17).
Setting up micro nuclear reactors on the premises of educational institutions and the basement of residential condominiums is not a viable proposition. Security would be a major factor in such micro nuclear reactors.
Other factors such as maintenance, seamless supply of required fuel and disposal of wastes would also need to be weighed in.
Captive micro nuclear reactors at steel and iron manufacturing industries is an option. Locational advantage of such industries would be an added advantage.
Skilled manpower is needed to establish, operate and maintain and the sustainability of supply of fuel and disposal of nuclear waste. Expertise in dismantling the used reactors and relocating them to other sites must also be in place.
RV Baskaran
Chennai