Letters to the Editor dated November 14, 2019

This refers to the editorial ‘Banking on pay’ (November 13). Whether the debate opened through the editorial will be taken forward is doubtful, as inefficiency and instability at the top are consciously built into government and public sector organisations in India.

The need for professionalism and continuity, from the board-level down to the middle management, is part of quality management practices recognised across the world.

In India, insecurity of incumbency at the top became a tool to make strong-willed executives, who respected rules more than the rulers, ‘amenable’ since mid-1970s. This resulted in government, statutory bodies and PSUs (including PSBs) becoming the whipping boys for policy failures.

There is urgency in considering longer tenures for top level appointments in regulatory bodies. The appointments should be after suitable screening, and once appointed they should not be under perennial threat of removal for political reasons. It is also desirable to provide job security to the incumbents by way of a decent remuneration package.

Mumbai

This refers to ‘Is the Sensex obsession justified?’ (November 13). The write-up makes interesting observations. However, is falling investment in rupee terms necessarily a cause for concern? Must we not factor in the increasing efficiency of capital? The investment required to achieve a particular level of output today could be lower than yesterday. Additionally, economies may be sitting on large capacities, and the focus is on better utilisation of capacity. Further, improving processes could help squeeze out more from existing assets. Therefore lower investments may not necessarily mean lower output.

In any case, the Sensex is not a great indicator of prosperity since the broader market has lost value and investors are sitting on big losses.

Pune

Apropos ‘It’s President rule in Maharastra’ (November 13). Imposing President’s rule in the State is the right decision. The hectic parleying among political parties and their thirst for power blocked the consonance for striking an alliance to form the government.

Further, the Shiv Sena’s move to file petition in the apex court stating that the Governor did not give enough time to get support was self-centred. If patriotism and welfare of the people are the vital principles of the parties, even a day is enough to decide the alliance and form the government.

But sharing the power and getting the top post are the key objectives of the parties. If such an attitude is centre-staged then the scope for the formation of government will be thin.

Sivakasi

It is given to understand that an applicant can apply for a normal passport at all Post Office Passport Sewa Kendras (POPSKs) and Passport Sewa Kendras (PSKs) spread across the State and at respective PSKs in a capital city. As also it is further assumed that Tatkal passport applications can only be submitted at select PSKs located within the State. Thus, under present circumstances, there is no possibility of applying for a Tatkal passport at any of the POPSKs in various district headquarters of a State.

The current non-availability of Tatkal appointments at POPSKs is inconveniencing many applicants, given logistical factors and costs of approaching the select PSK venues.

Hence, the Ministry of External Affairs should accept Tatkal-based passport applications and allot appointments under Tatkal quota even for the applicants applying at POPSKs. The suggested move will further enable quick processing of Tatkal applications at POPSK centres and also reduce the burden currently prevailing in the PSKs that are accepting Tatkal appointments.

Bengaluru

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