This refers to the news item, ‘Steps to boost use of Jan Dhan A/C’ (April 6). Having opened 12 crore accounts and bagged ₹14,000 crore small deposits, the government is perplexed about how to increase the turnover in these accounts. If the problems faced by the field level business correspondents (FBCs) are taken care of, the task of bringing increased transaction will not be difficult.

Although FBCs have been involved in financial inclusion implementation for more than five years, a majority of them have not been paid any remuneration or incentive.

Due to unemployment, many educated boys in villages become FBCs but since they don’t get paid, they quit. The few banks that have been paying a lumpsum salary to FBCs are reaping the real benefits.

MA Khan

Chennai

Right advice from Nooyi

It is heartening that Indra Nooyi spoke about the importance of respecting parents in her speech to IIM-C students. Her suggestion to ‘Learn, Earn and Return’ besides staying humble is worth following. Imbibing a good value system and intertwining the same in day-to-day life will stand the youth in good stead.

Vazhuthur Raghavan

Bengaluru

Tuning in to the times

This refers to your editorial, ‘A provident move’ (April 6). A graph plotting the equity price of any bluechip company despite its ups and downs on a short term, shows remarkable rise over a period of time; the return on fixed deposit is nowhere near it and this cannot be denied even by labour unions. Since EPF is a long-term investment, the volatile prices of equity in the short term will not have much adverse effect on the funds invested in EPF. The argument of labour unions that fixed deposit return is risk-free while money invested in stock is risky, therefore, does not stand to reason. However the clause in NPS giving the individual the choice of asset allocation is risky as individuals, unlike portfolio managers, may not have expertise and are prone to make mistakes in selection.

Rugmani Vinod

Thiruvananthapuram

Well said, CJI!

CJI HL Dattu deserves congratulations for speaking his mind. Not hesitating to call a spade a spade the CJI cited vacancies in the judiciary as the main reason for the low rate of case disposal. It is no wonder that cases drag on for years and justice delayed is obviously justice denied. Considering the judge-population ratio and the lack of infrastructure, it is a tall order to speedily dispose of cases and one should not be taken aback by the CJI’s pronouncement that a five-year limit would be appropriate to complete a trial. The CJI’s plea for granting financial autonomy and better pay packages to attract the best minds is also worth looking into.

NJ Ravi Chander

Bengaluru

Room for dissent

Narendra Modi’s advice on how the judiciary should play its role was ill-advised. Implicit in his counsel that the judiciary should guard against “5-star” activists was the criticism that it was found wanting in independence. But even though different judges have different approaches to cases and are not entirely above political leanings, the judges have to be judged by the rightness of their rulings.

It is safe to surmise that the activists referred to were defenders of human rights who took up cudgels on behalf of victims of violence, oppression and tyranny. It was pretty obvious that Modi was alluding to the relief provided to Teesta Setalvad by the apex court against the state’s plea for her custodial interrogation. Maybe, also the court’s observations against the state’s move to curtail the free movement of Priya Pillai of Greenpeace.

The duality of “perception and reality” is a double-edged weapon. The judiciary cannot be amenable to the executive, more so when it is controlled by corporate houses and communal forces. A ‘cosy’ relationship between the executive and the judiciary is the last thing a healthy democracy needs. It falls on India’s judiciary, at least partly, to ensure that the political system does not refuse to allow dissent.

G David Milton

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

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