Imran’s pitch for peace

It’s heartening to learn that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has made a pitch for peace and better relationship with India. This will help erase enmity between India and Pakistan. The one stumbling block, the Kashmir issue, can be resolved if both countries sincerely work towards it.

Pune

This refers to ‘Are consumption stocks invincible?’ (November 30). Consumption-driven companies have been having a good run in last few years and it seems likely to continue in the near future as well. FMCG companies that spend on R&D and have the flexibility to shift their product strategy will survive, while the others are bound to face the heat sooner or later. And as the article rightly points out, new and nimbler players which have niche products in their bouquet of offerings may have an edge over well-established firms as well. At a time when change is the name of the game, no company can afford to rest or take it easy.

Noida

Delhi witnessed a massive rally by farmers, where tens of thousands of them converged for a two-day protest, which included a march to Parliament to press their demands for debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. The farmers are also demanding a special session of Parliament to discuss issues relating to agrarian distress across the country. It is a matter of much anguish that despite the host of problems faced by farmers across the country, the government isn’t paying much heed to their calls for help. The government must address their concerns as soon as possible, because farmers are the backbone of our country and play a significant role in the economy.

New Delhi

The release of the new GDP back-series data, with 2011-12 as the base year, by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) and NITI Aayog — which lowered the average economic growth rate under the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government to 6.8 per cent while putting it at 7.35 per cent under the current Modi-led dispensation — has triggered a war of words between the BJP and the Congress.

While the Congress had every reason to be aggrieved over the revised data during its reign, it should not be oblivious to the impact the political wranglings would have on both domestic and foreign investors who rely on the quality, reliability and consistency of data when they pump in their money. As expected, the BJP-led NDA government has strongly defended the new GDP series as globally comparable for it takes into account the far greater representation of the Indian economy.

Frequent chopping and changing of data, especially at a time when Lok Sabha polls are round the corner, would do more harm than good. Political slugfest over economic data, which cast a big shadow over the CSO besides eroding the confidence of investors, should be avoided.

Sholavandan, TN

This refers to ‘With new portal, PSBs likely to regain market share in MSME loans: SIDBI’ (November 30).

While state-owned banks are losing market share on funding micro small and medium enterprises, the opening of the new portal ‘psbloansin59minutes. com’ is an opportunity for PSBs to grab new funding business which is less risky and more remunerative. The cascading effect of lending to MSMEs is that it leads to incremental job creation and acts against the concentration of wealth. In order to sustain the quality of the lending to the MSME sector, the lenders have to focus on the merits of the loan application rather than its value. It must be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders.

As banks are bound to take decisions swiftly they should not leave any stone unturned to ensure meritorious disposal of loan applications within the stipulated time.

Kottayam

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