Economic headwinds

This refers to the editorial ‘Storm warning’ (April 15). The geopolitical landscape presents a complex challenge for central banks worldwide. The conflict between Iran and Israel has escalated tensions, potentially leading to higher crude oil prices. This situation could disrupt the global commodities supply chain and contribute to inflationary pressures. Central banks may need to reconsider their monetary policy strategies, particularly regarding interest rate cuts. The rise in gold prices has prompted central banks to increase their gold reserves, which is a traditional move during times of economic uncertainty.

For India, the current geopolitical events could impact forex inflows, potentially leading to a depreciation of the rupee. However, India’s robust domestic investor base has been a source of resilience for its stock market. Leveraging this domestic strength could help maintain market vibrancy despite external pressures.

Srinivasan Velamur

Chennai

PoS players

Apropos ‘RBI likely to bring point-of-sale players under licence regime’ (April 15), the regulatory action has not come a day soon as the issue has been under discussion for long and even doubts have been expressed regarding the eligibility of some of the PoS players like Bharat Pe and Paytm to continue in offline PoS business. It is common knowledge that the merchants have been using these PoS machines to swipe cards and pay cash to customers for a commission, which is not only illegal, but also considered usurious. There is need to put in place regulations that would stop unauthorised cash transactions and ensure secured access to PoS systems with measures such as multi-factor authentication and prevent unauthorised access to the machines.

Kosaraju Chandramouli

Hyderabad

Fans go overboard

This refers to ‘When fans behave unsportingly’ (April 16). When fans literally treat cricketers as demigods, they have the right to criticise them too. But in the case of Hardik Pandya, it has gone a bit too far, from the time he took the field in the very first match of the ongoing IPL. It was Mumbai Indians’ decision to appoint Pandya captain in place of Rohit Sharma, and players moving from one franchise to another is a common phenomena. Fans should have shown more restraint in their over-the-top behaviour. Thanks to former Indian captain Virat Kohli for urging the fans not to unnecessarily boo Pandya. .

Bal Govind

Noida

Factors of production

The article ‘The poverty of Indian economic discourse’ (April 15) did not mince words on the imperative need to encourage capital-intensive industries in India to optimise economic growth. It must be remembered that capital doesn’t displace labour.

As a matter of fact, to produce physical capital (for instance, machinery) and also to operate it, labour is needed. A judicious mix of these two factors of production — labour and capital — can enhance the production of goods and services or real income, which is the best indicator of growth. India can take a cue from the Asian Tigers — Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea — which maximised economic growth by rapid industrialisation.

S Ramakrishnasayee

Chennai