Inflation concerns

The refers to ‘Food, fuel push April wholesale inflation to all-time high of 15.08%’ (May 18). The hoarding of food articles by traders and middlemen must be curbed and farmers need to be incentivised to increase the production of farm products, particularly edible oilseeds. An enabling environment to remove the bottlenecks in marketing agricultural products is critical for reducing the price of foodgrains and vegetables.

The Central/State governments must relinquish a portion of taxes they levy on the pump price of fuels. Though an increase in policy rates is vital to reduce liquidity in the system, making loans pricier for borrowers coming under the priority sector is not advisable as that will affect employment generation. The government and the banking regulator have to be careful while executing measures to bring down inflation.

VSK Pillai

Changanacherry, Kerala

Apps for the elderly

This has reference to ‘Why the elderly need to be digitally connected’ (May 18). Technology providers should develop easy-to-use apps for the older generation, and they must come loaded on the mobile phones. Apps that cater to various requirements of the elderly must be created as this will encourage them to use the apps and, thereby, improve their lives.

Katuru Durga Prasad Rao

Hyderabad

Gauging crop health

Apropos ‘Start-up pilots drone-based health audit of mosambi trees in Nalgonda’ (May 18), it is great news that the latest technology is being used in agriculture to study the health of the crop. Technology can help clearly identify sick and normal crop. This not only saves time and effort, but also money for the farmers by helping them take timely corrective measures.

Bal Govind

Noida

Start-up ecosystem

With reference to ‘Dawn of reality’ (May 18), the widening gap in the expectations of the investor community and the investee companies in the start-up ecosystem is a cause of concern. In spite of the guidance and support provided by incubation and acceleration agencies, a majority of first generation entrepreneurs are under the perceived notion that their job ends the moment the innovated product is launched and a patent is registered. Not much thought is given to marketing, sourcing of of talent and ensuring governance standards to make the business sustainable.

Sitaram Popuri

Bengaluru

Misleading advertisements

This refers to ‘Celebrities should do due diligence regarding claims in crypto ads’ (May 18). This is a welcome warning signal from the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). From a practical perspective, there’s going to be several hurdles in implementing these guidelines. Similar to the problems in fixing MRP.

Once such a regulatory requirement is insisted on celebrities associating with virtual digital assets, consumers can rightfully demand similar treatment for other products in the market. This may impact the advertisement industry in general. It’s not advisable to shift the responsibility of fact-checking and quality control from producers to endorsers of products.

The idea is not to underplay the harm being done to the consumers by endorsements by celebrities. But expecting celebrities to acquire expertise in assessing the quality of products they endorse can result in reputed celebrities moving out of advertisement industry.

M G Warrier

Mumbai

Delivery of justice

This is with reference to ‘We aim to provide justice education, not just legal education’ (May 18). In India, cases drag on for years and the rich and powerful escape punishment by using their influence and taking advantage of loopholes in the system. There are thousands of under-trials languishing in various jails of the country for petty offences. Their trials are running for years together because they are unable to hire a lawyer. There are also reports that many tribals are in various jails for petty offences.

Due to delays in delivering of justice, people have lost faith in the judiciary and try to settle their disputes outside the courtrooms. To ensure quick delivery of justice, all paperwork related to litigations/cases in courts should be computerised, and the working conditions in the courts should be improved. Setting up good law colleges and appointment of lawyers/judges purely on merit will go a long way in improving our judiciary. Also, the government should earmark a reasonable amount of funds to improve the judicial system.

Veena Shenoy

Thane

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