Letters to the editor dated September 25, 2020

This refers to the ‘Fitness quotient’ (September 25). As the saying goes, one can lead the horse to the water but cannot make it drink. Even if insurers provide health accessories such as treadmill or supplements, there is no guarantee that the insured will use them to his/her benefit. Most households are so crammed that they can hardly accommodate these equipment.

Further, the so-called extra freebies shall be eventually borne by the end-user. The best way to incentivise good health is to design an annual insurance premium on the basis of an individual’s mental and physical well-being quotient duly certified by a doctor.

Chennai

The IRDAI allowing insurance companies to offer redeemable yoga/gym vouchers to their clients to promote health awareness is a good move. In these uncertain times, the maxim ‘prevention is better than cure’ is more applicable now than ever before.

Insurance companies can, for instance, offer their clients a one-month gym subscription if they have been paying premium on time for the last 4-5 years and have not claimed any insurance yet. This will encourage people to cultivate healthy habits.

Noida

‘Led by renewables, non-fossils’ share in energy basket surges’ (September 24) is welcome news in the context of the ever increasing need for power. The biggest advantage is that air pollution will fall significantly. But supply of such renewable sources for power generation must be reliable and available on a continuous basis. Power from such sources should be encouraged, especially in rural areas.

Coimbatore

The proposal in ‘Helping job-holders fund the jobless’ (September 25) is too idealistic. Creating jobs out of funds collected from tax-paying employees and the government has two barriers to cross. When the jobs are created due to organisational needs, the question of subsidising the employer does not arise. But when jobs are created to accommodate the unemployed, the bigger problem would be how to provide work to them.

If job sharing takes place, it will make the two employees involved underemployed. Moreover, more employment of such persons in an organisation would be a cause of concern from the psychological perspective as well. Also, the principle of asking employees to contribute to job creation when the new recruits have little work to do is likely to be resisted, and rightly so.

Pune

This refers to ‘Khurshid named in Delhi riots charge-sheet’ (September 25). Both the Congress and the Left leadership may have their own reasons for publicly slamming the Delhi Police, and claiming that the Home Ministry is targeting political opponents rather than arresting the real culprits involved in the riots.

But one also reasonably presupposes that the police must have done their homework before daring to name them in this extremely sensitive case.

Bengaluru

This refers to ‘Why nature should be part of a comeback’ (September 25). At a time when the economy is struggling to stave off the pain and perils created by Covid-19-induced lockdown, resilient economic growth is essential. Forests are critical not only for wildlife, but also for the livelihoods of a sizeable portion of the population. The over-exploitation of natural resources by business enterprises for profit maximisation has significantly affected the ecological balance. Climate change is affecting the farming community as agriculture in India is still dependent on the monsoon.

The measures to protect nature is paramount while formulating economic policies. As the forest area has shrunk considerably, it is essential to give attention to regaining the lost forests.

Changanacherry, Kerala

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send your letters by email to bleditor@thehindu.co.in or by post to ‘Letters to the Editor’, The Hindu Business Line, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600002.

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