MFs haven’t delivered

This refers to editorial ‘MF blues’ (December 14). Mutual funds have failed to live up to the expectations of investors. The MF sector is a black box, devoid of transparency. In case of a market meltdown, the NAV collapses drastically but during a surging market, the NAV rise is not commensurate with it. Most of the fund managers lack the requisite financial acumen. Many investors are becoming relatively more savvy and entering the market directly. With falling disposable incomes so is the risk appetite. To suggest that investors who have already burnt their fingers or could not get adequate ROI will return back is highly unlikely.

Deepak Singhal

Noida

Stimulating the economy

The government has been drip feeding an economy emaciated by the pandemic. The stimulus package thus far is too poorly framed to get the economic flywheels going. The government just does not have the wherewithal to stimulate the economy. It is the RBI that would need to underwrite this huge deficit financing, be it by printing notes, trading in government bonds and/or by leveraging its bulging forex reserves. The US Fed, for instance, had intervened massively during the 2008 financial crisis

R Narayanan

Navi Mumbai

Implementation matters

‘NGT’s suo motu play book’ (December 14) reveals the prejudices in the environmental justice system. A few other examples of environmental degradation include the rampant pollution of Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru and the Yettinahole project in the Western Ghats, which has already destroyed large expanses of green cover despite the order to plant ten saplings for every full-grown tree felled. But the larger question of the mechanism to ascertain the implementation of NGT’s order looks better only on paper.

Rajiv N Magal

Halekere Village, Karnataka

Farmers’ agitation

Apropos ‘Farmers are hurting themselves’ (December 14), the farmers rightly earned public sympathy when they began the agitation. But now they appear to losing it as they are not willing to accept the government’s assurance of amendments to the farm laws such as guaranteeing the continuation of MSP and restrictions on corporate influence. Continuing the stir for complete repeal of the laws isn’t a rational demand. The new law gives the farmers the freedom to sell in any market.

NR Nagarajan

Sivakasi

Bengal politics

Over the decades, political violence has gained a firm foothold and became an ugly face of the polity of West Bengal. When leftist government wielded power, it was accused as orchestrating violence against its political opponents to stay and consolidate its grip on power. Now, the ruling Trinamool Congress government led by its mercurial leader and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faces the same accusations and found itself in the dock over the recent instance of an attack on the motorcade of BJP national president JP Nadda near Kolkata.

The BJP has been upping the ante in a bid to bolster its electoral prospects and capture power by winning State assembly polls due next year

Its polarising campaign and partisan role of governor cannot be justified, but the chief minister cannot shirk her responsibility in maintaining law and order in the State while preserving the space for opposition to organise and campaign.

M Jeyaram

Sholavandan, TN

Focus of films

This is with reference to ‘Wings of change’ (December 14). Indians are movie buffs and Indian film industry is one of the biggest in the world. The industry has produced great actors like Raj Kapoor, NT Rama Rao, Sivaji Ganesan and Rajnikanth to name a few. Movies like Mughal E Azam and Baiju Bawra , which were produced decades back, are still popular and considered as classics.

To bring about positive change in society, movies with social messages and those that highlight the work done by unsung heroes need to be promoted.

Veena Shenoy

Thane

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