Agri reforms

With reference to ‘Agri.....reforms push’ (June 26), the suggestions to set up a state-central council on the lines of the GST Council to fast track and monitor changes in the agri sector are note worthy. Also of significance is requesting RBI to be the ‘proactive agent’ for bringing hassle-free lending practices including raising the ceiling on collateral free loans. It is intriguing to note from the OECD chart that the market price support has never really helped the farmers and but for the succour through budgetary transfers, their position would have been much more critical. One only fervently hopes that the suggestions reach the hands of Finance Minister and find a place in the Budget next month.

Coimbatore

With reference to ‘Energising the MSME ecosystem’, the sector’s criticality cannot be emphasized more as it contributes significantly to both the GDP as well as employment. So the government and the RBI must work out ways to ensure that these firms are supported well. Finance is the lifeline for any organisation, more so for small firms, so they must be offered collateral-free loans at lower interest rates. With GST data is readily available, cash flow based lending should be customised for these borrowers by both public as well as private lenders. A few critical suggestions pertaining to bank guarantees could be implemented to ease cash flow of these exporters.

Noida

With reference to news report ‘DeMo effect: Currency in circulation down by ₹3.4-lakh cr’, setting up of a National currency management corporation of India on the lines of NPCI will help monitor daily and boost digital transactions. This new body could act as a national portal where all currency chests would be tagged to it. A national currency management corporation of India by banks’ currency chests will help throw up data of reduction in money in circulation and gauge movements towards less cash society and also calculate the daily number of digital transactions and amount used by these transactions.

Vadodara

The government seems to be patting its own back over the twin issues of drop in the 'genuine' currency circulation as also in the 'fake' note even with the largely 'ill-prepared' implementation of the demonetisation. What else could explain its so proudly claiming that keeping pace with the notes in circulation that were growing at an average rate of 14.51 per cent (year-on-year) since October 2014, it would have increased to ₹25,12,253 as on May 31, 2019, but the same actually stood at ₹21,71,385 crore.

Further, FM Nirmala Sitharaman also added that the number of counterfeit notes detected in the banking system, have also substantially come down while informing the house that the digital transactions too witnessed a sharp rise both in terms of its value and volume between November, 2016 and September, 2018.

However, there is a 'flop side' too of such a magnificent show since put up by her.

Firstly, no 'authentic' data about the extant volume of the nation's 'Black Money' is currently available. Secondly, there is no respite from the Pak sponsored terror attacks on our security forces in J&K.

Thirdly, even the detection of as many as 3,17,389 fake currency notes during FY 2019 does not augur well for the image of the government.Fourthly, the 'digitalisation of the financial transactions' also suffers from various infirmities like the reported 'misuse' of the customers' personal data.

Lastly, the government is also understood to have stopped not only the future printing but also the circulation of already printed notes of ₹2,000 denomination so as to present a rosy picture about the extant volume of currency (value wise) in circulation as of now.

By the way, how many of you have ever received the ‘fresh’ currency notes from the banks’ counters? If none, ever thought why?

Panchkula (Haryana)

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