The editorial on EPFO’s decision to reduce the rate of interest to 8.1 per cent is a balanced one and has presented the constraints and opportunities of the organisation. At a time when the other reference interest rates like bank FD.. Post Office, PPF etc are a clear 1-1.5 percentage point below even after this reduction the economics behind EPFO’s move is to be appreciated.

The subscribers may feel unhappy and trade unions may protest, but the EPFO cannot continue to offer higher rates by dipping into reserves and fresh subscription.

At the same time while looking for new avenues for investment the idea of investing in corporate bonds need to be done selectively and after due verification.

Pichai Vishwanathan

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Chennai

This refers to the editorial “Pragmatic decision” (March 16). While there are good economic factors justifying the reduction of interest rate in EPF deposits made by the employees, there is a social security perspective as well.

As a part of an employee’s pay is compulsorily deducted towards contribution to EPF, it curtails his investment options So, it may be worthwhile to compare EPF interest rate with income arising from more lucrative sources also instead of fixed deposits.

While talking of EPF we should consider the case of PPF also as the interest it earns for the subscribers is linked with the rate for EPF. In particular leaving aside the very rich the gradual reduction of interest rate from 12 per cent to below 8 per cent now, it has hurt the people who have been its subscribers for a long time, say 40 years and above — their calculation that the interest earned from the PPF would sustain them financially has gone awry. A provision of higher interest rate for such long-term members may be considered.

YG Chouksey

Pune

Congress, on a slippery road

This refers to the news report 'Sonia Gandhi sacks 5 PCC presidents after poll debacle' (March 16). The Congress president Sonia Gandhi reportedly asking the party chiefs Navjot Singh Sidhu in Punjab, Ganesh Godiyal in Uttarakhand, Ajay Kumar Lallu in UP, Girish Chodankar in Goa and Nameirakpam Loken Singh in Manipur to resign, did not come as some surprise.

Significantly, the AICC general secretaries in-charge of the five States could also be next in the line of fire.

While the party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate is learnt to have claimed that the presidents of all five State units had resigned taking moral responsibility for their failure to deliver, what about the 'moral' responsibility of the party's top leaders, including the incumbent CM of Chhattisgarh, who all were 'front-heading' the party's poll campaign? Should they not have taken recourse to some honest soul-searching/self-introspection and 'responded' accordingly?

This highly beleaguered and fast decimating party should urgently usher in the much awaited 'organisational' reforms.

Vinayak G

New Delhi

Emulate milk procurement system

Apropos “A case for reforms in warehousing regulation”(March 16), it is the essential factor to augment farmers' income. However, more focus must be on the small and medium farmers, who have the potential to grow a variety of crops in smaller quantities and face big difficulties in its logistics and storage, apart from quick liquidity, which leads to middlemen playing a vital role.

Governments must contemplate on emulating the practices of milk federations where milk is collected from the door step of farmers at no extra charge

A cold storage facility, as a supplement to warehousing, if provided at accessible locations solves several woes and also loss of food produced. HOPCOMS and APMCs must jointly propose a strategy in the matter.

Rajiv Magal

Halekere Village (Karnataka)

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