‘Uniform’ policy

This refers to the article “The value of workplace uniforms” (May 10). The effect of uniforms on productivity, teamwork, and sense of belonging depends on the organisational culture and the top management leadership style because uniforms are enablers, not drivers.

If the organisation emphasises egalitarian culture, then wearing the same uniform by all employees will foster team cohesiveness.

A bone of contention arises about who bears the cost — the company or the workforce. It becomes a critical factor in large entities. If supplied free, withdrawal of the same may be difficult.

A final decision should be taken by weighing all parameters including the need for them in matters of safety and functionality.

YG Chouksey

Pune

Rural demand woes

The focus was on the rural economy during the sixties. Early Five year Plans were highly rural oriented, till urban might usurped central resources for itself.

Rural infrastructure that could have sustained income levels throughout the year was put on the back burner for years. The result, relentless mass migration of rural labour to urban work hubs.

The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 is revealing. The rural average monthly consumption spending per person was ₹3,773 against ₹6,459 for the urban.

The real income of farm families is the real indicator of agri growth. There has to be avenues for non-farm income in villages to even out seasonal earnings. The rural sector deserves to be raised from the existential to the aspirational.

R Narayanan

Navi Mumbai

Air turbulence

Indian airline industry is facing turbulence and Air India is not an exception to this. Airlines are facing several challenges and flyers are hit by high fares.

Though the turbulence seems to be over for now for the Air India Express, the flight cancellations and the persistent HR challenges within the Indian aviation sector remain.

Jayanthy Subramaniam

Mumbai

Tax compliance

Apropos the article on the subject, despite the substantial hike in IT collections in 2023-24, there is no doubt that there are huge disparities in the income levels. Certainly, increased compliance by collection of data from various sources and the information flowing through GST has helped in higher reporting of income.

Also, with buoyant stock market, increase in capital gains may also have contributed to the IT mop up, since long- term capital gains and dividend are also taxed.

Kasiraman Ramachandran

Chennai

comment COMMENT NOW