Empowerment of women

This refers to ‘Quota Bill seeks to give women 1 in 3 seats in LS, Assemblies’ (September 20). Though a welcome decision, many challenges lie ahead. First, the Census and then the delimitation exercise need to be conducted. Both these are massive exercises and have a political angle to them. We are already seeing the demand of reservation within the reservation, so what kind of final shape it takes will be keenly watched. But the most critical thing is that women’s reservation should not turn out to be a proxy for their political husbands/fathers. The women representatives should not turn out to be mere rubber stamps. We see that happening at local panchayat and village pradhan elections. So whenever the reservation is implemented, it should be done to truly empower women and allow them to make a difference to society.

Bal Govind

Noida

Begin Census exercise

The re-introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill, which seeks to increase the representation of women in Parliament to 33 per cent in both State Assemblies and the Parliament, has heralded a new beginning in the country’s march towards the political empowerment of women.

While women were given one-third reservation in panchayats and local bodies in the early 1990s, their numbers in Parliament and Assemblies are abysmally low. As the implementation of the Bill hinges upon the Census and the delimitation exercise, the government needs to kick-start the Census exercise without delay.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan, TN

Tackling hypertension

Apropos ‘1 in 2 with hypertension unaware of condition:WHO’ (September 20), it is an established fact that hypertension kills more adults than any other disease. One of the major reasons for prevalence of deaths due to hypertension is because most of the people are not even aware that they are suffering from it. With timely healthcare at the primary and secondary level hospitals/clinics, coupled with inculcating appropriate lifestyle changes — which may be conveyed widely through all popular media — it may not be a Herculean task to control both hypertension and diabetes and save the nation from the impending disaster of CVDs, strokes, kidney failures, etc.

Kosaraju Chandramouli

Hyderabad

Consumer demand

It’s commendable that India is expected to become the world’s third-largest consumer market by 2027. This impressive growth is predominantly driven by strong household spending, surpassing that of other developing Asian economies. The anticipated rise in demand for clothing and lifestyle products suggests increased consumer activity and an improved quality of life. Nevertheless, vigilance regarding global economic conditions, particularly factors such as oil deficits and economic downturns, remains crucial, as they can influence India’s growth path.

Krishna Kumar Vepakomma

Hyderabad

Regulate farm incentives

This refers to the article on incentivising farmers to increase crop yield. Although welcomed by millet farmers, there must be a balanced approach with respect to incentivising other crops, failing which farmers may rush towards only those crops for which incentives are provided and this may eventually result in reduced production of several others.

Rajiv Magal

Halekere Village, Karnataka

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