Farm loans

This is with reference to ‘More farmers in Maharashtra turning to private moneylenders for loans’ (March 23). It is unfortunate that the farmers in Maharashtra still depend on moneylenders for their financial and other requirements. These moneylenders exploit the farmers by charging very high rates of interest, thus driving some of them to commit suicide. The government should address this issue on an urgent basis and ensure that the farmers get loans from public sector banks and other government-recognised financial Institutions.

Government officials/NGO should apprise the farmers of the various loan schemes available so that they do not approach the moneylenders. In the case of failed crops, the farmers and their families should be given alternative employment/livelihood opportunities. Waiver of farm loans is only a small step to prevent suicides. Counseling, taking care of their families’ medical and other needs by the state in coordination with the CSR of large Industrial houses is the right way of preventing farmer suicides. The families of poor farmers who are unable to earn from their farmland can be given alternative employment in small-scale and cottage industries in the villages.

Veena Shenoy

Thane

Failure of banking system

The fact that a large number of farmers depend on private moneylenders reflects the poor outreach of banks in certain pockets of Maharashtra, despite there being in place the well-established structure of lead banks, and State, district and block level bankers’ committees.

Banks such as SBI must make a thorough analysis of the regions and devise suitable schemes to prevent farmers from going to moneylenders. Besides, banks must also publicise the salient features of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme.

RV Baskaran

Chennai

Tackling oil price rise

This refers to ‘Share the pain’ (March 23). Since volatility in the price of petroleum products is likely to be a common phenomenon, all stakeholders will have to contribute to reducing its impact on the economy and inflation. States should rationalise the pricing mechanism. Why should petrol cost so much more in Maharashtra than in Tamil Nadu even allowing for transportation and other costs? As the Centre reduces excise duty, States should follow in tandem. The time has come to bring petro products under the GST regime.

Fuel processing and marketing companies should continuously look to enhance productivity and reduce input costs. Given the petrol and diesel are still sold at below-cost rates, all vehicle owners — particularly those owning high-end and multiple cars — should look to bring down fuel consumption.

YG Chouksey

Pune

Oil bonds

With spiralling global crude oil price threatening to go out of control, the government has limited options as neither bringing down Customs/excise duty nor expecting States to bring down VAT seem to be practicable for obvious reasons. Hence it is time for the government to have a relook and start issuing oil bonds to OMCs. Issuance of such bonds will not have any impact on the fiscal deficit. Though they are expected to have a bearing on the government’s overall debt, given that India’s present debt-GDP ratio is quite manageable, a marginal addition on account of oil bonds is not expected to have any significant impact. Also, oil bonds are long term debt instruments involving staggered payments. Moreover, the global economic scenario being dynamic and cyclical, one could expect the situation to ease in the long run when these bonds mature.

Srinivasan Velamur

Chennai

CUET, the answer?

The mandatory Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to undergraduate courses and colleges under central universities, which will take an effect from the upcoming academic year, is welcome as it marked the first significant step towards standardising the admission norms in the higher educational institutions of the country. The fact that it will be conducted in 13 languages given the language diversity of the country also merits appreciation.

Regardless of whether the ills plaguing the admission process such as sky high cut-offs and increasing number of students with hundred per cent scores jostling for seats in country’s premier higher educational institutions which are indeed literally struggling to maintain parity between boards with varying marking standards may become a thing of past with the introduction of CUET or not, a few could doubt about the imperative need for such measures to standardise the admission process.

However, there are several genuine apprehensions regarding CUET — that it will promote coaching industry and the importance of 12 years of schooling will be undermined — that cannot be brushed aside easily as innocuous. Moreover, the complex challenge of equality and quality in higher education cannot be addressed by this single piece of reform called CUET. It is time the country banished rote-learning afflicting its education system and switch over to a system which promotes independent and creative thinking among the students.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan, TN

Published on March 23, 2022