Rainwater harvesting

The monsoon has just started in some parts of the country and soon it will spread to more areas. But many places are still facing water shortage. The groundwater levels have been decreasing year after year. One way to ease this problem is that every new house constructed must have a percolation pit within its premises. Panchayats, municipalities and corporations should provide percolation pits on roads that have sloping gradients. Rainwater harvesting is the process of accumulation and storage of rainwater for reuse. Rainwater can also be collected from rooftops. The rainwater harvesting system is one of the best methods for conserving water.

Nagendra Kumar Vempally

Hyderabad

Funds flow to MSMEs

Pitted against a labyrinthine matrix of land, licensing, training, infra support and regulations, finance ought to have been a less worrisome facet for MSMEs, the biggest employer in the country. Yet the sector is starved of funds, left largely to the largess of banks and whims of purchasers. Government departments and public sector units account for much of the outstanding dues to the sector. If some of China’s yesteryear MSMEs have grown to international standing today, it is because of the country’s vision for the small-scale sector. Our Budget needs to be innovative, going into the specific rather than generic issues faced by MSMEs.

R Narayanan

Navi Mumbai

Rail safety

This refers to ‘Safety first’ (June 24). The Kanchanjunga Express accident shows that Indian Railways has not learnt its lesson from the tragic and massive Balasore accident last year. The implementation of the Kavach system is going at turtle’s pace. The Railways and the government will have to find ways to speed up Kavach installation. The Railways will have to ensure that there’s no scope for human error. Having bullet train is good, but safety of passengers is non-negotiable and paramount.

Bal Govind

Noida

Foreign policy

The new BJP-led coalition government is swiftly back to business in its foreign policy outreach, especially in the neighbourhood. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s second term in the post began with with a series of meetings with the Sri Lankan leadership.

The readouts from both New Delhi and Colombo indicate that the focus of his visit was finding ways to expedite India’s many projects — in areas spanning energy, connectivity, housing — in Sri Lanka that are apparently progressing at a slow pace.

Krishnan Ramani Subramaniam

Navi Mumbai

Rationalise tax rates

The article ‘Usher in a simpler tax regime’ (June 24) really hit the nail on the head. It has mirrored the views of households in general and the salaried class in particular. Lowering personal income taxes will do a world of good to the aforesaid sections. It will enhance the disposable income of the people, leading to increase in consumption demand, investment, employment and output in the economy.

S Ramakrishnassayee

Chennai