This refers to ‘How MCLR hike affects bank customers’ (April 22). Despite the MPC holding policy rates, some banks raised the MCLR by 5 basis points. This will not only shrink the retail borrower's debt-servicing capacity but also hamper consumption and demand.

The hikes in EMIs could increase bad assets in banks. Without resorting to hiking the lending rates for raising the deposit rates, lenders must look for other avenues to enhance the revenue. Arresting leakages of interest on loans, augmenting the fee-based income, improving the collections of unrealised interest on loans and cutting the discount on compromise and resolution settlements of bad loans are some of the measures by which lenders can drastically improve the revenue.

The interest rates on deposits across various schemes and tenors need to be raised, given the rising inflation. Lenders must review their interest rate hike as the diminishing power of the rupee will push people into further debt. Even though the introduction of the Standing Deposit Facility is to incentivise banks to mobilise their resources yet the bank's move to hike the retail lending rates to avoid the impact of increasing deposit rates is unfair.

VSK Pillai

Changanacherry

EV safety worries

With reference to ‘EV battery explosion leaves 1 dead in Telangana’, EV battery explosions have started taking place with alarming frequency. With the industry is in its nascent stage, a lot of vehicle sales are happening through word of mouth.

And such negative publicity will adversely affect the sales in future. Though the Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has warned of strict action and heavy penalties against the guilty companies for negligence, a stricter policy should be laid down for EV two wheelers and cars and battery manufacturers as safety is paramount and non negotiable.

Bal Govind

Noida

RBI rises to the occasion

Apropos ‘RBI directs UCBs to not create honorary positions/titles’ (April 22), the RBI having directed Urban Co-operative Bank (UCBs) not to create any honorary positions/titles at Board level or confer such titles that are non-statutory in nature, deserves kudos for protecting the interests of all stakeholders. That the central bank seeking the elimination of existing position/titles within one year, speaks volumes about its 'sincerity of purpose' behind invoking such a stipulation.

It intends to ‘preclude’ some ‘favoured’ individuals, currently holding such prized yet unrecognised positions (as per applicable statutes or regulations), from enjoying certain privileges or rights as also having the 'free' access to all board materials and participate in board/ committee meetings of these UCBs.

After all, it is incumbent upon the RBI to carry out its ‘supervisory’ role befitting its status of the nation’s banking regulator.

SK Gupta

New Delhi

Kishor’s Congress strategy

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s slew of comprehensive suggestions which have been doing rounds on social media to script a revival of the Congress Party which now stares at an existential crisis following a series of crushing debacles in both Lok Sabha and State Assembly polls since 2014 merits serious consideration from the party's leadership and its rank and file.

As pointed out by him, the Congress needs to shun its entrenched nepotism, sense of entitlement among its present crop of leaders and sycophancy. It must unleash concrete measures to create an army of grassroots leaders and foot soldiers to strengthen its organisation to reclaim its position in the country's political landscape.

The party's glaring disconnect with the people which literally shut the door on its face and blunt its potential to reflect their aspirations explains its faster decimation. As the business-as-usual approach will do more harm than good to its survival, the Congress leadership needs to walk the extra mile to become a force to reckon with in the country.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan (Tamil Nadu)