The dastardly attack on Indian soldiers in Uri calls for outright condemnation. Recently, India has been following a soft approach on terrorists. Perhaps, the Prime Minister wants to solve the Kashmir issue in an amicable manner but the time has come to take tough decisions on the India’s foreign policy regarding Pakistan. India must use all the options available to it, including military intervention, to control the this menace. The opposition parties must support the Government.
K Ashok Kumar
The assault is another body blow and deserves the strongest condemnation. The strike, coming on the heels of the Pathankot airbase attack in January, has set alarm bells ringing again. That the arms and ammunition used by the attackers bore Pakistani markings only exposes its nefarious designs in aiding and abetting terrorism. The attack has put the Government in a difficult position.
NJ Ravi Chander
Bengaluru
The assault shows the lapses of security on the LoC. The army’s lack of alertness is questionable, because there wereintelligence reports of possible attacks. The other issue is that the weapons used by the militants were deadlier than those used by the Indian army. A quick and reasonable solution to the Kashmir problem is the need of the hour.
TSN Rao
Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh
Long overdue
This is with reference to your editorial, ‘The price of de-risking’ (September 19). RBI’s decision to put a cap on banks’ exposure to large borrowers is long overdue. This is going to be a huge challenge not only due to the steep cut proposed in the exposure to group borrowers but also due to the magnitude of the bad loans they account for. Given the ambitious GDP growth target, it is hoped the Government does not choke bank funding in one stroke but undertakes this task in a calibrated manner.
Srinivasan Velamur
Chennai
The move to cap is ill-timed. First, the banks themselves are shying away from large exposure due to a not so favourable economic scenario, as also entrepreneurs. Risk mitigation should take place before, not after the act. The high level of NPAs is due to prime infrastructure sectors failing because of faulty policies and scams. The RBI and the finance minister should have forewarned the banks.
If AAA rated corporates are mandated to prune their exposure, where will they find alternatives? They will go to another bank and the risk will remain the same. These blue chip companies are presently supporting the bottomline of the banks. This revenue also takes care of the provision requirements for existing NPAs. If banks prune their exposure to these income generating assets, there will be erosion of capital. Then government will have to recapitalise banks.
The present policy is contrary to what government has been propagating: that is, mergers and consolidation of banks on the plea that globally big banks should be created to finance bigger ventures. Imposing a cap on lending to existing borrowers goes against the policy of big banks. Do we need big banks to make small finance? Or we should strengthen the existing system by finding ways to recover the money stuck in defunct corporates.
S Veeraraghavan
Coimbatore
Not enough
The report of the panel headed by the CEA on pulses may be valuable but it is not sufficient. We tend to address cyclical issues of the supply, demand and pricing of cereals, pulses, oil seeds, sugarcane, in separate modules, not in an integrated manner. Profligacy in water usage and an unhealthy urban bias is ensuring a decline. By focussing on irrigation, land or the farmer in isolation leads to misplaced incentives and confusion. The need is for rolling plans that integrate all factors: water access, production, expected demand, export /import assessment, storage, MSP range, productivity upgrade initiatives, and so on.
R Narayanan
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
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