Rise of Indian steel

The article ‘As the sun sets on Britain’s ‘steel empire’, India on a ‘conquering’ march’ (April 01) leads one to reminiscence the waxing and waning of political powers. Armed with ‘Industrial Revolution’ age technology, Britain went on building mighty empires upon which the ‘sun never set’. Slowly, but steadily, the ‘comfort zone’ syndrome crept in and it surrendered all its glory and hegemony.

At the same time sheer perseverance and fortitude of the doyens of our industry saw India emerge as a steel powerhouse. . Keeping pace with advancement in technology, being adaptive and agile to respond to challenges and, above all, being humane and devoted to unchanging human values, the warriors of our industry can attain even greater heights.

Jose Abraham

Vaikom, Kerala

Giving start-ups a boost

With reference to ‘Exit route for start-ups’ (April 1), a majority of VC investments in the start-up segment happen through equity or convertible instruments, and in case of insolvency or liquidation, the investee fund may not be qualified as secured creditor and stands in the lower order of settlement. Hence, in order to safeguard the interests of investors, the definitive funding agreements have specific clauses preventing the defaulting entity from taking the insolvency route, leaving arbitration as the only option.

With mounting cash burn and operational issues, a majority of the start-ups are neither able run the business nor get freed from the control of the investors. A properly structured mechanism for providing hassle-free exits is desirable. However, de-risking investor interest is equally important, to support the start-up ecosystem in the country. In the absence of suitable remedy, a mechanism like a collateral credit guarantee fund may be put in place, to protect the interests of both investors and the beleaguered companies.

Sitaram Popuri

Bengaluru

Ties with the US

Apropos ‘Challenging times for India-US ties’ (April 1), the tariffs that are being talked about by the Trump administration would impact India’s exports to the US, especially pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, auto-parts, seafood and agricultural products. Significant reduction of tariffs by India will disturb the current demand-supply equilibrium of products like nuts, cheeses, meat, etc.

Also, the implications of such reduction on our budgetary resources could be tricky.

On the foreign policy choices, India has followed the principle of non-alignment with power blocs and this continues to be the best bet even during these turbulent times

Angara Venkata Girija Kumar

Chennai

Published on April 1, 2025