Letters to the editor dated October 30, 2020

This refers to the interview with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (October 30). The questions posed were apt to the situation from an economic perspective and were responded with the equal finesse they deserved. Her views on retrospective tax are welcome, which will pave the way for FDI to flow into the country.

While it is true that the overall stimulus of ₹20-lakh crore was meant to provide an impetus to the sagging economy impacted by the pandemic, lack of adequate fiscal support in the form of cash incentives to fuel demand could have been clarified.

Also, while the views on the bottlenecks in terms of inadequate infrastructure in resolving IBC cases in time is valid, the legal hurdles NPA resolution faces in terms of time consumed could have been touched upon.

As rightly acknowledged, the role played by the RBI in easing liquidity and keeping long-term interest rates, etc., in check to facilitate public borrowings is praiseworthy. Overall, the replies given by the Finance Minister were candid and to the point.

Chennai

Apropos ‘Crypto musn’t have currency’ (October 30), cryptocurrency was first launched in 2008 when Bitcoin hit the market as the first Internet-based currency. Cryptocurrencies are issued by private firms and individuals and are neither backed by any security nor any government guarantee. It is traded through exchanges and price depends only on demand as supply is constant.

The issues that need examination are: As cryptocurrency is not legal tender how to monitor the transactions done using the digital currency and bring them under the tax ambit? Who will control and monitor the crypto exchanges? The value is demand driven and there is no mechanism to protect investors. Cross-border transactions and money laundering using cryptocurrency as medium of exchange are possible.

The Government/RBI should bring in regulations before these digital currencies make further inroads into the system.

Mumbai

Speculation is rife in the media about the revival and growth of our economy, which has kept the public well-informed and also helped to boost its morale. But what may be more important at this juncture would be to analyse the lessons that have been learnt on account of the pandemic and the lockdown, and the preparations that need to be done to meet any future predicaments of similar nature. The virus and the lockdown have exposed the vulnerability and loopholes in our economy, and more so the state of unpreparedness by all economic sectors, which can be taken as a benchmark for our planning exercises.

Coimbatore

This refers to ‘Farm laws leave much to be desired’ (October 30). In this context, there is a need to mention the e-NAM project of the Centre, which was launched without much debate and is opposed by several States. All this points to farmers’ issues getting least priority when it comes to implementation, and yet remain on top of manifestos of political parties.

Halekere Village, Karnataka

The government is once again looking to extend the time limit for the Air India bid. The move to sell the national airline has been on for a year or more now. The earlier move dates back to 2005.

Why has every government failed to profitably run an airline, given all the leverage it had been enjoying in a premium and growing sector.

The government should have long gone for a 51 per cent stake sale and let the best player(s) run the airline.

Navi Mumbai

With reference to the news report ’Saurabh Mukherjea pays ₹1.38 crore to settle case with SEBI’ (October 30), the case relates to Manappuram Finance and not Muthoot Finance, as reported. The error is regretted.

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