Fed rate action
The decision of the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady at 5.25-5.55 per cent does not come as a surprise, as inflation in the world’s largest economy still remains elevated and uncertainty persists over the trajectory of inflation. While the actions of the US Fed do tend to reverberate across the globe, not all central banks are likely to delay cutting interest rates as dynamics across major economies may be diverging. As far as India is concerned, food inflation continues to remain elevated, while core inflation remains subdued. Under these circumstances, greater certainty over the monsoon and the trajectory of food prices could provide the space for the Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI to pivot.
M Jeyaram
Sholavandan, TN
Reorient education
Galloping technology demands research-oriented syllabi and faculty. These alone will help premier institutions to keep reinventing themselves. IITs mass produce excellence but ‘lesser’ institutions seem to chip in with brilliance. Brand IIT has been finding greater acceptance on Wall Street or in IT start-ups and less in premiere engineering/scientific research institutions, With seven decades of IITs, in an era of ever exploding scientific ken, its alumni ought to contribute to cutting-edge technologies and seminal scientific papers.
R Narayanan
Navi Mumbai
Curb mis-selling
This refers to ‘Concocted claims’ (May 3). Mis-selling has always been part of the FMCG/pharma companies’ working, but now it seems to have reached dangerous levels. Since the health of common people is involved, no alternative medicine companies should be allowed to make tall claims without proper checks. The recent Patanjali case is a golden opportunity to bring the house in order.
Bal Govind
Noida
Sustainable farming
Apropos ‘Farmers take the tech route to prosperity’ (May 3), monsoon is the lifeblood of Indian agriculture. Monsoon vagaries caused by climate change affect rain-fed agriculture and increase the dependence on irrigation. Deploying digital based technology and conservative irrigation methods like drip irrigation will ensure economical use of water. Advanced farm machinery, better quality seeds and precision farming can address productivity problems.
NR Nagarajan
Sivakasi, TN
Quality of work
This refers to ‘Work vs leisure debate’ (May 3). It is the wont of employers to expect long hours of work from their employees for fixing decent wages. But what is important is that the employees should raise the quality of their work in the allotted time to ensure perpetual growth of organisations they work with. They should ensure that their minds always win over matter for that to happen.
S Ramakrishnasayee
Chennai