Exit polls are a farce

Apropos ‘Karnataka elections: Exit polls hint at a hung Assembly, with an edge to Congress’ (May 11), while most polls have predicted a hung Assembly, one must question the rationale behind carrying out such an exercise prior to the ‘official’ declaration of the results.

The Election Commission must ban all exit and opinion polls as they serve no purpose other than creating needless hype and raising political temperatures.

Kumar Gupt

Panchkula (Haryana)

Government as a borrower

This refers to the article ‘WMA: Fixing a tool that has gone haywire’ (May 11).

There may not be any questions over the central bank’s role as banker to the government. The problem of transparency in the terms of lending arises when the borrower dictates the terms.

Long back, SS Tarapore had famously asked: “Ever heard of the borrower deciding the terms of lending?”

The government seems to be taking the central bank for granted. Such a situation doesn’t augur well in a situation where fiscal policies are more and more getting influenced by political expediency.

MG Warrier

Mumbai

Big tech ‘competition’

Apropos the news report “Competition law: MCA dithers, Big Tech gains” (May 11), the delay in notification of the Competition Amendment Act, 2023 is a reflection of the pressure exerted by big business on policy makers world over.

Governments must not buckle under such pressure. The provision relating to determination of penalties by CCI based on ‘global turnover’ of enterprises is a crucial amendment that would deter big tech from indulging in unfair practices.

Start-ups need help as they are fast becoming engines of technological innovation and progress, job creation and socio-economic development and transformation.

Kosaraju Chandramouli

Hyderabad

Climate funds challenge

This refers to your editorial “Winds of change” ( May 11). The RBI report has rightly focussed on ‘climate challenge’ and issues related to mobilising funds attached to it.

Till now financial institutions have been adept in dealing with traditional financing and the transition to “Green issues’ brings with it challenges related cost of capital which is expected to go up.

With increased focus on ESG eco-system by global regulatory bodies like United Nations PRI (principles of responsible investing), OECD and ISO, there needs to be an increased awareness on green investing which is aimed at tackling climate change and depleting natural resources though such changes could have a temporary financial impact on the financial institution’s performance in view of trade-offs vis-à-vis traditional financing.

Also due to increased regulatory focus on ‘green finance’ at global level, corporates may resort to ‘green washing’ to gain unfair advantage to meet compliance requirements.

Srinivasan Velamur

Chennai