Farmers’ stir

The suspension of the 41-day protest by farmers from Tamil Nadu at Jantar Mantar is a statement about their plight. The assurance by Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami that he will do his best to persuade the to satisfy the demands does little to mitigate the distress of the farmers aggravated by the worst drought on record. Few would disagree that the demand for a drought relief package of ₹40,000 crore, farm loan waiver, setting up a Cauvery management board, profitable prices for farm produce and networking of rivers are fair. The novel methods of protests by the desperate farmers to win the empathy of the Government did not pay off.

They displayed the skulls of the farmers who committed suicide, held mice and snakes between their teeth, semi-tonsured their heads, shaved half their moustaches, stripped naked, ate rice off the road, conducted mock funerals and drank urine — but none of this moved the Government or galvanised the public to put pressure. The Modi government has not even paid lip service to the cause of farmers. The opposition of the ruling AIADMK to the one-day Statewide strike called by all other parties except the BJP on April 25 has validated the perception that the BJP pulls the strings.

G David Milton

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Leave interest rates alone

With reference to the edit, ‘Sticky rates’ (April 24), after the sharp cut in bank rate in September 2015, there has been a steady mark down. The economy is in a static phase with policy rates divorced from the lending regime, healthy GDP projections notwithstanding. After demonetisation, the IIP picked up slower than expected. The 8/11 monetary intervention will need time to recover the latent economic potential. It will take a while to smoothen out GST.

Household savings have dropped to a 22-year low. Our 90s rebound was due to a 38 per cent plus savings kitty. What better time to perk up savings. A renewed push for savings is overdue. Key rates may not have much influence on animating the economy for at least four to six quarters.

R Narayanan

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

At all times, savers are punished and borrowers are pampered. Unfortunately there is no lobbying for savers/depositors. If savers are continuously beaten down, there will not be any savers. Consider the CPI inflation rates from 2011 to 2014: they were 8.87, 9.30. 10.92, and 6.37 per cent, respectively.

The RBI and the Centre must work to increase the community’s savings for productive use. For this, good regulatory measures to ensure repayment and better return for investment are required. Interest rates should be left to market forces. This alone can ensure proper allocation of resources for optimum utilisation.

S Kalyanasundaram

Email

Track talk

This is with reference to ‘Get the trains back on track’ by Raghu Dayal (April 24). People have high hopes from the railway minister. IR requires thorough reforms to promote tourism, create job opportunities, and improve transport facilities. Private investment, partnership and FDI should be allowed. Funds should not be wasted on populist measures. New lines are needed in States such as Bihar, Odisha and the North-East.

Veena Shenoy

Thane, Maharashtra

Lifeline for the elderly

Small savings schemes are the lifeline of senior citizens. With consolidated pension in most sectors retirees are dependent on the returns from their terminal benefits, invested mostly in small savings and PSBs. With the escalating price index, their planning will go haywire. Ultimately it will lead to social unrest and dependence on the Government will escalate.

Household savings form a major portion of capital formation unlike in the West. This is a feature of Asian economies. The apprehension that subsidies will benefit the privileged is unfounded. There are many checks and balances. These need to be fine-tuned to target genuine beneficiaries. Banks reduce interest rates at the cost of depositors. The Centre must subsidise small savings and pensioners’ interest income.

S Veeraraghavan

Coimbatore

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