India Post’s banking push

This refers to ‘Armed with smartphones and biometric scanners, the postman leads India Post’s banking push’ (August 27). That India Post is extending its horizon by spreading its activities in various fields is praiseworthy. It is imperative, however, to increase its workforce else it would put pressure on the skeleton staff who has to do multifarious tasks.

Bengaluru

With reference to ‘Banks want to tap database of I-T, GST departments’ (August 25), the exchange of data on reciprocal basis between banks and the departments may be a useful tool to investigate due diligence of bank credit proposals. Banks normally make use of secretarial assistance to trace mandatory company filings of returns and statements with the ROC and critically examine the comments of statutory auditors on various disclosures, including tax defaults and frauds in the books of accounts of corporates.

However, in respect of non-corporate borrower accounts, banks cannot secure such statutory data, which lacuna would jeopardise their diligence process. At present, these departments have provision to, among other things, access bank accounts to probe/unearth undisclosed income. How far such data provided by these departments would help the banks in their decision-making would be worth watching.

Bengaluru

A new revolution is set to happen in Indian politics. Through the creation of the NETA (National Editor Trans-forum Application) app, a first of its kind in the world, citizens can rate and review their political leaders, including MLAs and local representatives. The app users will have access to information about their leaders’ moveable and immoveable property, liabilities, and the work done during their term. The app can also be used to raise questions, file complaints and share videos with their leaders. This move will help take our democracy a notch higher.

Mumbai

The Punjab government’s move to prescribe life imprisonment for sacrilege is ill-considered and unwarranted. At a time when religious tolerance is at a nadir and religious zealotry at a peak, any law that makes ‘hurt to religious sentiment punishable with life term’ will prove to be counterproductive. The legislation makes no distinction between demented religious fundamentalists and bigots who denigrate other faiths to stoke religious strife for ulterior ends and rationalists and free-thinkers who count religious dogmas as antithesis to scientific truths. The State is well advised to not frame regressive laws that will land writers, artists and other creative-minded people in jail for ‘thought-crimes’. All that contradicts or counters the religious texts — for instance, the theory of evolution or the dogmas underpinning them or a scientific world-view — cannot be construed as ‘sacrilegious’.

There is no need to compel or frighten citizens into showing deference to religion or put sacred books above rigorous intellectual scrutiny. Scepticism is not a crime. The de-criminalisation of sacrilege is as inescapable as the supersession of religion by science in the march of time.

Maruthancode, TN

The former RBI Governor of YV Reddy has called for putting an end to the dual control of the public sector banks (PSB). He has emphasised on improving governance.

One single authority can help in ensuring better control and supervision of PSBs without any overlapping of responsibilities. The spate of arrests of some of the top level bankers in the recent past has created a fear psychosis in the system and the confidence in PSBs is at a historically low level which is not good for the system.

Nagpur

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