For a paper-free LS

It is welcome that the Lok Sabha Speaker has provided the option of delivering papers online to the members in lieu of physical copies from the next session onwards. The decision to go paper-free, while is optional for now, must be made mandatory measure. As most of the members have access to emails and technology, it is high time that both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha went paper-free and ensure seamless communication.

‘The Lok Sabha Secretariat may also adopt the best practices of the other bodies like the European Union, the United Nations Secretariat and the UN General Assembly, which follow a robust paper-free documentation system.

Further, effort should be made by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to provide the details of private member Bills and Bills amended/tabled through a news website regularly. Extensive effort is necessary to disseminate regular updates of parliamentary proceedings through news portals.

Varun Dambal

Bengaluru

Misleading ratings

This is with reference to the article ‘Can we still rely on credit ratings?’ (August 2). The recent developments in the IL&FS and other such cases indicate that the managements of large and powerful institutions influenced rating agencies to obtain the desired rating for their debt instruments, thereby misleading investors who completely rely on these ratings.

In India, institutional investors, too, like mutual funds, insurance companies and pension funds, which hold the savings and retirements funds of the middle class, rely on the credit ratings for investment decisions.

Even in the share market, small investors are often mislead by these ratings when they invest in the IPOs of big companies.

TSN Rao

Bheemavaram, AP

Shareholding norm

This refers to the news item ‘Govt likely to put on hold 35 per cent minimum shareholding norm for listed entities'. This is good news. The earlier decision was without merit as there cannot be any advantage to the investing community or the corporate sector by making compulsory public holding of 35 per cent.

On the other hand, it may prompt some MNCs to go in for de-listing and the market may have to forego some quality stocks from listing. If the promoter holding is 65 per cent, then it will also be an additional burden to reach 90 per cent through the book-building route for any de-listing.

When even government companies could not meet the present limit of 25 per cent of public holding, why the government must prescribe 35 per cent for private entities?

S Kalyanasundaram

Email

Wilful defaulters

This refers to ‘SBI rolls out policy on wilful defaulters’(August 2). At a time when wilful defaults are mounting, the step taken by the largest lender to frame a comprehensive policy to deal with such defaulters will accelerate the recovery of bank funds.

The timely recognition and identification of wilful defaulters and the recovery action against them are key to maximising the recovery. Any delay in initiating the actions will jeopardise the interest of the lender.

An area-based collective approach from the lenders will yield better results and will enable each other have detailed information and data of the wilful defaulters.

VSK Pillai

Kottayam

Tax revenues

The data released by the Controller General of Accounts presents a grim picture of the government’s finances. That the Centre’s gross tax revenues grew by a mere 1.4 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year reflects clearly how difficult the task of achieving the Budget target of 18.3 per cent increase in tax revenue is. While income-tax collections have continued to grow at an encouraging pace, concerns over collections from indirect taxes remain. With the slowdown in economic activity and the limited ability of monetary policy to stimulate growth, the prospect of buoyancy in tax revenues now appears slim.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan, TN

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