This refers to your edit, ‘Primary requirement’ (January 13). The country needs profitable businesses to get listed on the exchanges so that those who want to buy the products and services from these companies get a chance to participate in the value creation unlocked by going public. The regulator should make sure that only credible managements go public. Some well-publicised estimates show that a total of 2,397 companies have vanished, including companies listed in the BSE and NSE and all the regional stock exchanges put together.
Surely the promoters cannot be vanishing too. The government and the regulators should track down all those who have cheated investors so that confidence returns to our primary markets. Thousands of crores of rupees have been lost and nothing has been done to bring the guilty to book. This silence is killing our primary markets and investors.
CR Arun
Not cottoning on
India is on the verge of becoming the world’s largest cotton producer, yet our cotton policies are a mess. The international market has witnessed a terrific fall because of huge production and less consumption, as also the Chinese ‘effect’ of hoarding cotton and playing with the world market. The Cotton Corporation of India has to enter the market and start procurement of cotton. The losers are the farmers because of higher cost of production and lower minimum support price.
CCI started procuring excessive cotton crop in order to stabilise the market. But instead of hoarding it’s planning to sell through e-auction. The CCI appears to be behaving more like a private business firm rather than a support entity. China paid farmers much more than the international cotton rates and they did not offload the cotton they procured for at least two years. Farmers got a good price. Why can’t the CCI pursue such a policy?
Dinesh Mandhani
Pat on the back, Rajan
Not for nothing has Raghuram Rajan been chosen Governor of the year. The fact that he acknowledged the role of the ruling government in his achievements over the last year is heartening. His financial predictions on global happenings, ability not to yield to the pressures of the government, capacity to deflect unjustifiable directions, and soft denial mode of approach stood him in good stead. He deserves a pat on his back.
RS Raghavan
Bengaluru
Banking reforms
As rightly observed in the article “The right moves on bank appointments” by Ramnath Pradeep (January 13), the BJP government appears to be making the right moves to facilitate global growth in a competitive manner. The decisions arrived at in Pune should be made public for transparency and implementation.
So long as government appointments are not lobbied for, it is good. Otherwise, the whole exercise may prove to be a farce. Knowledge and merit should be the main criteria, not merely performance analysis, in which figures are often tweaked or ‘managed’.
Vazhuthur Raghavan
Chennai
Smart move
The decision by Microsoft to offer its mobile application services through IDEA Cellular is a smart move, considering the current market scenario. Android-based applications have become the standard for mobile manufacturers, who prefer building applications on open source OS, thus virtually putting Windows OS out of contention. This strategy would bank on selling applications and gradually moving up to occupy the space as a premier operating system.
Vikram Sundaramurthy
Chennai
Practical advice
‘When the funny bone won’t tickle’ by Sandhya Rao (January 13) offers practical tips. Taking things in your stride and carrying on as if nothing has happened are the best ways to respond to detractors. As Mahatma Gandhi said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”, even in trying circumstances.
CG Kuriakose
Kothamangalam, Kerala
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