The monsoon factor
This refers to the news report ‘With the monsoon progressing well, RBI Governor optimistic about favourable food inflation outlook’ (September 6).
While the RBI Governor may have reasons for being optimistic, a bad monsoon could queer the pitch.
Since weather conditions can’t ever be predicted with certainty, the Indian economy is still at the mercy of rains, which also impact food inflation putting pressure on the RBI.
No wonders if the RBI’s targetted rate of inflation of 4 per cent may remain a distant dream.
Kumar Gupt
Panchkula (Haryana)
Harsh world for women
Apropos, ‘Women and workplace: What we want,’ (September 6).
It’s clear that women are not safe anywhere: not in schools, on streets, with friends and family, and even workplaces. From the gruesome rape-murder of a trainee medico in a Kolkata college to the shameful allegations gripping Kerala’s film industry, women professionals are constantly facing sexual harassment and assault in their working lives.
We need harsher punishments to deter rapists, with courts treating more rape-murders as ‘rarest of rare’ cases. To change men’s mindset, we need to start early by sensitising young boys to respect girls as equal partners. As President Droupadi Murmu declared, “Enough is enough” — our daughters deserve “freedom from fear”.
N Sadhasiva Reddy
Bengaluru
Caution over credit
Apropos ‘Credit growth getting it right’ (September 6), the article aptly advocates that credit growth must be in consonance with the GDP growth and the spillover of excess credit which does not match the market need will lead to credit losses caused by economic slowdown.
The subprime crisis in the West was caused by loans being extended to people not having the ability to repay them. In the same way, when bank loans are not following prudential norms and without analysing the market need it will hamper the liquidity of the banks.
The resource mobilisation and the credit plan of the bank must be aligned to the real economy. Even lending to priority sector must be based on their market status and cash flow.
NR Nagarajan
Sivakasi
Credit risks
This refers to the “Tracking the pace of credit growth “and Credit growth: getting it right”(September 6). Pumping bank credit into the economy beyond the absorption capacity of the borrower is not only counterproductive to the growth but would pave the way for speculation. Banks’ aggressive lending practices will result in bad debts. Banks must avoid the practice of creating borrowers who are seldom able to service debts, to mitigate the default risks.
As credit-deposit ratios are at elevated levels, the banking regulator must further strengthen the regulations on lending without collateral. Banks must review the quality of the outstanding unsecured loans and initiate corrective actions to prevent bad loans.
VSK Pillai
Changanacherry