Stand-off with China

The India-China face-off has paved the way for the ‘boycott Chinese goods’ slogan, which is trending across the country now. The public mood has already changed, with protests taking the form of even destroying Chinese goods. What we need to learn is whether the boycott will hurt Indian companies? If we do a reality check, China’s investment in India have risen 500 per cent since 2014, even as we launched initiatives like Make in India, Startup India, Stand-up India, and so on.

Today, most of the electronics gadgets, smartphones, mobile apps, raw materials used in the manufacture of drugs, and many daily-use items are either from China or made using Chinese investments.

These products, therefore, cannot be dispensed with straight-away. If we do so, it will hurt our industry and employees as well. Our focus should be to formulate appropriate policies than raising slogans.

Our dependence on China can be cut by developing indigenous alternatives and building a strong domestic economy.

Ravi Teja Kathuripalli

Hyderabad

Attracting FDI

This refers to ‘What ails India’s Model BIT?’ (June 29). The article emphasises on boosting FDI by attracting global companies contemplating on moving their investments away from China. But India itself, thanks to the pandemic, is going through a difficult period with people’s incomes shrinking with complete/partial closure of industrial and commercial establishments.

There will be a virtual halt in the growth of many sectors at least for some months. The government’s efforts at creating conditions for investments in these sectors also will be limited due the current public health and related issues.

TR Anandan

Coimbatore

Focus on inner beauty

This refers to ‘Be comfortable in your own skin’ (June 29). The millennials, who are the major consumers, are not so gullible as to get carried away by misleading advertisements.

Just as caste hierarchy in society, particularly in India, is losing its relevance with the rise in education, urbanisation and occupational mobility, so shall these prejudices based on skin colour.

The focus of society ought to be on inner beauty, inculcating moral and ethical values and, most importantly, physical and mental well-being.

Further, singling out and targeting a few companies is not the answer, especially when one finds matrimonial advertisements awash with demand for fair skinned bride or groom.

Deepak Singhal

Chennai

Ayurvedic drug for Covid

This is with reference to a recent controversy regarding claims of a new ayurvedic drug being a cure for Covid-19. The clinical trials and research may not have been documented well in such cases as in the case of USFDA approvals, but the efficacy of alternative medicines should not be ignored totally.

In fact, the Tamil Nadu Government is already distributing Siddha herbs for patients and public. Hence, if any new drug in alternative medicine cannot be proved as a standalone cure it should be tried as supplementary therapy provided its safety is established.

M Raghuraman

Mumbai

A sombre milestone

Coronavirus has infected more than 10 million individuals worldwide so far; it means at least one in every 780 humans on the planet has been infected. India alone accounts for more than half a million cases. Covid-19 has killed over half a million people; a death is not a statistic; the loss of a loved one is so intensely personal, poignant and painful that it is beyond words. The global situation is still grim. Only time will reveal how the virus will mutate and behave and shape our future.

The pandemic is more than a global public health crisis; it is a crisis of life itself. We can do little about morbidity and mortality built into being in nature’s scheme of things. Nevertheless, we can and rebuild a more resilient, more pandemic-prepared, and more humane society.

G David Milton

Maruthancode, TN

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