The Maharashtra High Court is correct when it asks: Is it right to go ahead with cricket matches when we have a water crisis of huge proportions on hand? IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla insists the show goes on. This is disgusting.
According to reports, the summer of 2016 will see above normal temperatures. The aftermath will be reservoir levels going down, severe heat, depleting groundwater and unavailability of drinking water. Is it right to go ahead with cricket matches in this context? Cricket is a game loved by Indians, but it exists in socio-economic milieu from which it cannot be divorced.
Obscene spending
For the first time in this country the RBI governor has put a number to the kind of election spending by political parties: it is a staggering ₹60,000 crore. The point is, we cannot have a democracy with this kind of spending. We need more transparency in the finances of political parties. All political parties should be brought under RTI and as a nation we need to have a debate on campaign finance and how we get ahead with our democracy before money and vested interests take over.
CR Arun
Fundamental banking error
This refers to your edit, ‘Reviving infrastructure’ (April 7). During March 2014, when the UPA was in power, there were 766 stalled projects; currently there are 893 stalled projects. It is reported that most of the ventures are hanging fire due to lack of funds and unfavourable market conditions.
Expecting commercial banks to finance infrastructure projects is principally wrong because they have short-term funds, and with short-term funds they cannot finance long-term projects. They can finance only working capital. We had development finance institutions like ICICI and IDBI who were concentrating on infrastructure. They had all the expertise to finance infrastructure. It is a blunder that we have allowed them to become universal banks which has resulted in substantially reducing financing institutions for infrastructure. They have actually become only commercial banks though they claim to be universal banks.
We must start development finance institutions to finance infrastructure and restrain commercial banks from operating in this segment. This will be good for banks as well as for infra industries.
S Kalyanasundaram
The problems faced by the sector are varied. Most projects require the total cooperation of the States which are engaged in solving their own problems. For example, most projects require land, but land acquisition is almost always mired in difficulties. Bank loans are becoming difficult for various reasons. The most practical way out is the appointment of panels of experts in the various sectors in every State with officers from the Centre overseeing the progress. The solution for successful completion of projects is continuous monitoring of progress.
TR Anandan
Coimbatore
Janu’s metamorphosis
The decision of CK Janu, an immensely popular Adivasi leader in Kerala, to contest as an NDA candidate in the upcoming Assembly election could prove suicidal for her. The erstwhile firebrand tribal leader is not equipped to spurn BJP's enticements. As M Geethanandan, her longtime co-fighter in the cause of tribal rights put it, Janu has betrayed her followers by aligning with the BJP. What the BJP represents clashes with the tribal struggles for justice and freedom.
G David Milton
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Audit challenges
To deal with NPAs is a biggest challenge. Some measures can be taken: proper and timely monitoring of loans of specified amounts and pre-audit sanction from specialised agencies and various kinds of regular audits to check there is no diversification of funds. There should be independence of audit and the Government’s decision to select and appoint statutory central auditors as delegated to individual PSBs must be withdrawn.
Mahesh Kumar
New Delhi
Tough on the Government
With reference to the edit, ‘Reviving infrastructure’ (April 7), I agree that allocating a bigger chunk of funds for infrastructure projects and outlining steps to resolve matters related to PPP and rating of infra projects are some of the noticeable steps taken by the Government to bring the economy on track. But even the Government is finding it very difficult to revive funding for infrastructure, especially in the absence of the bond market; asset liability mismatch remains the biggest lacuna in this sector, thanks to the long gestation period of such projects. Banks cleaning up their books and PPP resolution will take time; meanwhile infrastructure companies should try to maximise the ECB fund-raising.
Bal Govind
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Promising beginning
As a maiden effort, the educational institutions’ ranking done by the ministry of human resource development has commendable features as also some shortcomings. The parameters and weightages chosen to evaluate institutions are comparable with those of global ranking agencies like Times Higher Education world ranking or Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) system. The ranking of institutions separately on overall and individual parameter basis is informative in that the best institutions have been found wanting in some critical parameters like Graduate Outcomes.
As for room for improvement, the Achilles heel of the whole exercise is the use of unverified data for deciding the ranks. Some sample checking of data by interview and feedback should be immediately included. Also, it would make the system appear equitable if the ranking exercise is taken by third party experts as government and private organisations compete. Lastly, the inference that our pioneering institutions are not counted even among the globally ranked first hundred warns that we have miles to go.
YG Chouksey
Pune
Terrorism tangle
China has asserted that the UN designating anyone as a terrorist is a serious issue. This statement emanated in light of India’s objections to the Chinese action blocking India’s bid to declare the Pathankot strike mastermind, Masood Azhar, a terrorist. It would not have taken this stand had the terrorists struck in China. In fact, terrorism is not as much a threat to China as it is to countries like India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and others. Why do terrorists want to destabilise only a few countries?
KV Seetharamaiah
Hassan, Karnataka
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