Letters to the editor dated Sept 21, 2020

The editorial ‘Start-up taxation’ (September 21) has raised some valid points to boost investor confidence. It’s especially important for India to bring its tax regime in equity investments in line with global standards. Moreover, if ease of doing business has to become a reality, domestic start-ups have to be encouraged since they create jobs, augment business, and add value to the economy.

No one can predict with certainty when the Covid crisis will end, but an important lesson learnt during the pandemics that a well-diversified supply chain is the key to keeping the economy in steady state.

Apropos ‘Why the new agri laws are not anti-farmer’ (September 21), the legislation to save the farmers from the exploitation of middlemen will help the former get competitive price for their produce and will pave the way for augmenting their income. An electronic platform for trading and contract farming will enable farmers get a better price for their produce. However, how far the small, marginal and landless cultivators, who form a major portion of the farming community, would be able to take advantage of the present legislation will depend on the assistance given to them.

Changanacherry, Kerala

Farmers have all along been at the mercy of arthias and could not get a fair deal in APMCs. The new laws will give them the freedom to operate and maximise profits. It is not enough if we call ourselves an agrarian state but have bottlenecks at the marketing stage of the chain, and these new laws should make the agri sector more attractive. But the changes have their own drawbacks as farmers may find it difficult to carry the produce to the market due to logistics issues if they do not have the optimum quantity of produce.

The arthias do the funding and aggregation which will not be available in the new arrangement and farmers may have to form co-operative societies at the local level to take care of their needs. Further, contract farming may lead to over exploitation of land and resources and this should not be allowed by the government.

Mumbai

This refers to ‘Media matters’ (September 21). Over the years, media has transmogrified into a potent force outsmarting other mediums. However, the more it is spreading its wings the greater it is becoming unethical and unmanageable. The depravity is at an all-time high. The key to success of such platforms is to sensationalise and dress up facts and boost TRPs. Any person with a modicum of common sense can figure out that they are highly prejudiced and de facto mouthpieces of political parties. They will go hammer and tong in trying to shape public opinion and, importantly, indoctrinate.

Chennai

In many cases of fraud, statutory auditors are silent regarding the adequacy of internal audit. So is the case with reports of the CAG regarding various Central/State government departments. This situation should change. Constant vigil by internal audit on the financial health of an organisation is necessary to avoid large-scale fraud, theft, and embezzlement of resources. Transactions at all levels should come under constant review of a qualified internal auditor. Some corrupt management will always avoid concurrent review and report controls by internal audit.

When the volume of transactions swells due to increased activities, internal checks and controls should also increase and establishment of a separate internal audit department managed by qualified chartered accountants becomes necessary. Appointments may be made by direct recruitment or by engaging independent, practising chartered accountants on a contract basis.

Instead of employing staff and officers in internal audit, managements can engage auditors to do the job on contract basis.

Bengaluru

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