The apex court’s demonetisation verdict will hopefully settle the validity of the 2016 action. However, some aspects need to be understood. There was a narrative being spread that the poorest of the poor were most hurt by demonetisation. We were made to believe that the poorest of the poor had only ₹1000 and ₹500 notes. We all know the profile of people who had these notes (illicitly) and were thus badly hurt. They were not the poorest of the poor.

Another narrative was that almost 100 per cent of the banned currency came back and thus the objective was not achieved.

We all know that there is counterfeit currency, especially of high value notes. Obviously, these did not come back or were seized.

Therefore this objective was surely achieved.

V Vijaykumar

Pune

Facts first

This refers to ‘Sitharaman welcomes apex court upholding demonetisation decision’ (January 3). What else could have been expected of her, being the incumbent Finance Minister?

Apart from highlighting several key parts of the SC’s decision apart, one genuinely wishes that she had also talked about the unimaginable sufferings of the general masses during post ‘DeMo’ era.

Did any of our Ministers/MLAs and other politicians stand in the long queues for days together, along with their Aadhaar cards, to exchange a few rupees of the demonetised notes of ₹500/₹1000 notes? One has to walk in the shoes of those who suffer to realise their real.

Needless to say, the achievement or otherwise of its such a prestigious move, can’t be so conveniently lost sight of. Let the govt make an ‘honest’ assessment and issue a ‘White Paper’ revealing its real inside story.

Vinayak G

New Delhi

Banks must stay vigilant

With reference to the Editorial ‘Threat assessment’ (January 3), despite being adequately capitalised with improved asset quality, increased borrowing cost, and the possibility of policy rate cut any time soon seems remote. The default risk is higher, affecting the quality of assets. Banks and shadow banks have to be extra vigilant in the conduct of the performing loan accounts to prevent any deterioration in their quality.

The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on exports cannot be discounted. It is vital to keep the prices of the products competitive to enhance the exports.

VSK Pillai

Changanacherry

Blue economy’s potential

The oceans and seas possess great unexploited potential to provide sustainable livelihoods for millions, but some of them such as Pacific, Indian, North Atlantic, etc., are already identified as the highly polluted water bodies on earth (’Developing the blue economy requires collaborative effort’, January 3).

Any national or global plans to develop the blue economy should take into account the already existing issues of enormous amount of microplastics pollution, which is expected to grow almost 50 fold by the end of this century and the large number of oil spills and the land-based runoff of oil into the oceans. More than 1,500 marine animals and plants are already facing the risk of extinction due to anthropogenic activities.

Unless the principles of protection of oceans and sustainability of marine life is foregrounded while formulating the plans for exploitation and development of blue economy, the oceans, which are our climate regulators, support system of life on earth, oxygen generators, food and livelihood providers for a vast number of coastal communities, would be seriously threatened with disastrous consequences for life on earth.

Kosaraju Chandramouli

Hyderabad

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