There have been various schemes to tap the latent gold mine in domestic coffers. But none of them has addressed the vital issue, that is, the sentimental value of gold. Many don’t exchange their jewellery for this reason. Then, there’s the question of wastage. The consumer stands to lose at least two grams which works out to around ₹5,600 a sovereign at the market rate.

Charges levied at the time of purchasing gold jewellery should be made transparent, without any hidden costs. Uniform charges should be mandatory and there should be a regulator. Any gold wastage should be credited to the consumer since it doesn’t go down the drain, it goes into the jewellers’ coffers.

Besides, gold loan schemes should be tenure-based and bonds can be issued based on the underlying value of gold. These will bring in a robust secondary bond market.

S Veeraraghavan

Coimbatore

GDP growth target

Regarding the article ‘Revisiting inflation targeting’ by Madan Sabnavis (August 23), RBI policies are only enablers for credit to various activities wherein the user class plays a bigger role in utilisation of funds.

Besides, inflation is a product of the monsoon, expectation of companies to provide increased revenues, expectation of the salaried class for periodical wage revision, percentage of monetisation of transactions, effect of events such as festivals, elections and rallies in boosting demand, the unresponsiveness of black money to monetary policies, the response of producers to price rise, the cascading effect of oil prices and so on.

As such, RBI’s policies are not effective in containing inflation.

P Esakki Muthu

Chennai

Kudos to the whole team

While we cheer our medal-winners we shouldn’t underestimate the struggles of others who made it into the Rio contingent. Our sportspersons brave all odds to represent us at these games. Before we point fingers we should ask ourselves whether we are worthy of them. Let’s get back to the drawing board and address the needs of our ailing sports infrastructure. Only this can ensure a “Faster, Higher, Stronger” Team India at Tokyo 2020.

Amala S Maheswari

Kozhikode, Kerala

A sad paradox

With reference to ‘Girl power at the Olympics’ by Rasheeda Bhagat (August 23), it is a sad paradox of Indian womanhood that the more they excel in male-dominated professions, the more they have to struggle to be seen as a valuable part of the society. Many become victims of early child marriage(globally, 40 per cent of such marriages take place in India), sexual exploitation at home and the workplace, domestic violence, and dowry tortures and deaths. And all this happens despite laws prohibiting such malpractices.

Higher education and more financial independence too have made only a marginal impact in enhancing their quality of life. The root cause of their plight is the male mindset which means they have to fight their own battles for gender equality.

YG Chouksey

Pune

The success of Sakshi Malik in a sport dominated by and imagined to be the preserve of men is a story that should be told to rid our society of female foeticide and discrimination. We should seize this opportunity while the memory is fresh to remind ourselves of our unpardonable biases against women. With encouragement and support, many more women can succeed.

Anand Srinivasan

Bengaluru

In people we trust

A change in attitude among tax collectors may bring about a positive change in behaviour among fence-sitters fearful of harassment. There are some places where walls are painted with pictures of deities to prevent men from relieving themselves. Similarly, we could use the principle of karma instead of the carrot and stick to influence unscrupulous tax-evaders to pay up.

Prakash Hadya Subbaraya

Leicester, UK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send your letters by email to bleditor@thehindu.co.in or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

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