Conflicting issues

Though the Supreme Court has ruled that Aadhaar must not be insisted upon for passing on benefits from social welfare schemes, in violation of these orders, the Government has made Aadhaar compulsory for releasing scholarships for dalit/adivasi students, disbursing salaries and pensions, marking attendance for teachers, registering marriages, buying or selling property, issuing driving licences, obtaining gas connections, purchasing goods from ration shops and making transactions in PF savings.

In its latest observation, the Supreme Court said that the Government was not free to discriminate between a person who has an Aadhaar card and one who does not. The question of whether the card itself is a violation of citizens’ privacy because of the biometrics from holders, still remains unsettled.

The Government should first ensure that everyone is issued the Aadhaar card, and only then make it compulsory. The Supreme Court must quickly give its judgment on whether the scheme was an invasion of privacy or not. The technical aspects must be made so tight that no one can get access to the information in it.

TSN Rao

Bheemavaram, Andhra Pradesh

Political mess-up It is reported that the Government is likely to issue a set of measures for faster resolution of NPAs. The emphasis has been only on identification and quantification of NPAs rather than on ways to reduce and upgrade them. The NPAs are a reflection of the state of health of industry and trade.

It is regrettable that the Indian banking industry, considered one of the strongest in the world, is facing problems because of wilful defaulters and political pressure. Deceleration of lending is definitely not the answer. A strong banking sector is important for a flourishing economy. A monitoring agency must ensure that the directions of the RBI are obeyed scrupulously. The Government must act firmly. Political interference in PSBs is the root cause of the mess.

Vinod C Dixit

Ahmedabad

Stakeholders’ stakes

The scams in major sectors like coal, telecom and infra, besides loan melas followed by loan waiver over the past few years have contributed to the strain. Field-level employees are not responsible for the political or government-driven lending. PSBs have paid as dividend to the Government dividend at an average of ₹20,000 crore a year for ten years. Governments pressured PSBs to declare higher dividends to meet budgetary funding. Although the government is the majority stakeholder and has received substantial dividend, it allocates only a fraction. Had the dividends payable been ploughed back into PSBs, the strain on capital would not have arisen.

Employees will be happy to reduce the terms of turnaround into an MOU document, but the terms should contain time-bound steps by all the parties. Banks should assure proper HR policies and adequate infrastructure to strengthen the efforts of the employees. Besides, PSBs should be compensated for social banking.

S Veeraraghavan

Coimbatore

Landmark Bill

This refers to the landmark Mental Health Bill passed by Parliament which provides the right to better healthcare for people suffering from mental illness. We have a long way to go when it comes to mental health. A change in people’s perception and improved public awareness and mental-health literacy will help remove the stigma that stands in the way of finding cures and lead to a dignified life for the affected.

TS Karthik

Chennai

Arrogance of power

This refers to ‘Boorish MP, unapologetic Sena’ by Rasheeda Bhagat (March 28). The behaviour is not surprising, considering how arrogant politicians become due to the power they possess. Sadly, even Gaikwad’s party took his side instead of apologising to the Air India staff. Law makers are meant to be role models, not the ones taking the law into their hands and breaking it.

Bal Govind

Noida, Uttar Pradesh

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