Food wastage is a national waste; keeping this in mind the Government’s plan to discuss the issue with hoteliers is a step in the right direction (‘Soon, hotels will serve only ‘fixed’ portions of food’, April 12). Servings should be need-based to ensure that food is not wasted. After all, one can consume only according to requirement and capacity, and not because food is still available on the plate. Eateries should also be instructed not to fill water to the brim in tumblers.

HP Murali

Bengaluru

Restore credibility and trust

This is with reference to ‘Cut out any doubt’ by Aditi Nigam (From the Viewsroom, April 12). This decade has seen the deterioration of trust in all walks of life. Political parties in the opposition who magnify all types of allegations against governments in power are equally responsible for this state of affairs as citizens who have developed a special interest in sensational and ‘spicy’ gossip. The media and the political leadership have perfected the art of converting even normal police action or routine deliberations in court into stories with a focus on ‘failure of governance’. This trend needs to be reversed.

Institutions such as the EC, CAG, RBI and even the courts are being dragged into controversies, making people suspicious of all the pillars of democracy. It is also true that all these institutions have stood the test of time and credibility.. The EVMs could be made a test case. It would be ridiculous to abandon a technology-driven voting system, built up over years and which is working well, due to pressure. But credibility needs to be restored. It would not be cost-effective to reintroduce paper ballots or even to have the so-called ‘Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail Machines’. But it should be possible to have both paper ballots and EVMs in some polling booths in order to establish that EVMs are not manipulated. Maybe the experiments should go on till trust and credibility are restored.

MG Warrier

Mumbai

Menace on the bourses

This is with reference to the edit, ‘Manic microcaps’ (April 12). The edit has rightly zeroed in on the darker side of influence peddling through the omnipresent social media and its manic adherents. A study shows that 84 per cent of consumers trust recommendations from family and friends more than traditional advertising. An ill-conceived tweet/video goes viral, enough for a company’s reputation to be at the mercy of every person with a smartphone.

A team from the University of California created a computer model that “predicts the future of the stock market” by scanning public sentiment indicators on Twitter. The software was up to 11 per cent more accurate than other models at predicting both the volume of trading and the value of stock the next day. The SEC of the US has changed the rules that determine what platforms companies can use to communicate with investors, and regulations to include Facebook and Twitter, so long as the companies made their investors aware of the outlets they intended to use. With short-term investors far outstripping long-term ones and exchanges transformed to ATMs, the ills of such manipulation are here to stay.

R Narayanan

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

From raids to development

The Centre makes us think that income tax evasion is the sole problem in the economy and hence carries out raids. In India no hunt for black money or corrupt people is an exercise in futility. But the billion-dollar question is: Will the Government use the resources efficiently? Will they create perpetual human capital in geometric proportions to these resources and help India become ‘developed ‘?

S Ramakrishnasayee

Ranipet, Tamil Nadu

Farmers need help

The simmering agrarian crisis has reached boiling point and weakened the livelihood of farmers. Though converting farm land for industrialisation seems a rosy proposition, let us remember that we cannot eat money. Urgent policy intervention by the Government coupled with good strategy is needed to make agriculture attractive and respectable.

TS Karthik

Chennai

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