Kirana stores will stay

This refers to your editorial ‘Nothing to fear’ (May 11). You have very correctly brought out the fact that any number of Amazons and Flipkarts will not be able to replace brick-and-mortar shops (mom-and-pop stores) for the simple reason that Indians are still conservative in their outlook and can’t change overnight.

An average Indian wants to see/touch and feel a product before he purchases the same. Even though it is claimed that e-commerce players sell at a very low price, it is not true for grocery and such other items of daily consumption, which are about 20 per cent cheaper at kirana stores. Electronic goods are probably among the few items on which e-commerce players offer a better deal.

The editorial has also rightly pointed out that the government needs to come out with a clear-cut FDI policy for retail business.

Retail giant Walmart has finally acquired Flipkart, India’s biggest and most significant e-commerce start-up. This is a win-win for both — Flipkart shareholders made a neat profit and the American company has got access to a huge, but under-explored market. The takeover has a lot of positives, and not like how the critics see it — as a sell-out of the country’s jewels. First, the Indian customer has a lot to gain.

Walmart is the world’s most competitive company. It manages to procure at the lowest prices, its own expenses per unit of sale are low — helped no doubt by its size — and the logistics are amazing, all of which will help Indian consumers. Second, Indian farmers can hope to get better returns, with speedy transportation there should be some savings, by cutting out the long chain of middlemen.

Hopefully, the multi-billion dollar deal would also persuade the government to transform its start-up policy from a mere catchy slogan to an agent of India’s economic change.

Chennai

State Bank of Hyderabad issued Golden Jubilee Certificates in September 1992 at ₹4,084 with the condition: “Amount on due date (after 25 years) ₹1,00,000/- made up of renewal at 10th and 20th years”.

It also had a condition that the rate for 10 years will be at 13 per cent and the renewal will be subject RBI guidelines on interest rate. The amount repaid on demand after 25 years was ₹27,133. The maturity amount as per the conditions in the certificate for the invested money is about ₹48,500. The strange fact is that the maturity value, even if the 13 per cent interest is paid for the entire 25 years, will work out to around ₹86,700, whereas the promised return was ₹1 lakh. The bank is duty-bound to refund a justifiable amount and explain how this mess-up happened.

Chennai

It is exhilarating to see the two-minutes video, which has gone viral, about an LeT militant calling upon his friends to eschew violence. Leading a normal life has its own benefits, but ironically the youngsters are brainwashed into taking the path of violence without realising that it s fraught with danger. More importantly, the LeT militant, who is in the custody of the Army, blames Pakistan for encouraging the outfits to attack India. Whether the clarion call given by the militant to his pals will bear results is worth watching.

Bengaluru

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gift to Nepal in the form of the bus service between Ayodhya and Janakpur, is a case of history repeating itself. During his tenure, the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpeyee had successfully launched the Wagah-Attari-Lahore bus service between India and Pakistan, which is in operation even two decades after its inauguration.

Mumbai