Letters to the editor dated June 28, 2021

This refers to ‘Sustaining the nascent economic recovery’ (June 28). Though banks have abundant liquidity and are willing to lend at low rates, credit off-take for investment has been tepid. This points to the fact that income flows of enterprises have not been adequate.

To help overcome the adverse effect of the pandemic, the government must ensure a conducive environment by swiftly completing the vaccination process, besides strengthening the required infrastructure and reducing taxes.

The surging inflation is pushing up the cost of inputs affecting, thereby, the competitiveness and confidence of entrepreneurs. Addressing the bottlenecks in the supply of goods and services is vital to contain inflation, besides the Centre and the State governments must forego a portion of the taxes they levy on petrol and diesel to curb the cascading effect on inflation. Also, upscaling the efficiency of government undertakings and departments is vital in the current situation.

Changanacherry, Kerala

This refers to ‘To rebound, India Inc will need more stimulus’ (June 28). Indeed, Indian Inc has been more than proactive in helping the population during the pandemic. Unlock is taking place gradually across the country, and responsibility lies on companies to ensure employees maintain Covid protocols so as to minimise the chances of a third wave.

To get the economy back on track, some amount of hand-holding is required by all the stakeholders — the government must support large corporations, who in in turn must provide a helping hand to their MSME suppliers, and these suppliers must hand-hold unskilled and underprivileged workers. This way, the whole value chain is taken care of.

Noida

This refers to ‘In deep distress, aviation sector needs help’ (June 28). Today, the economy of any nation is intricately twined with regional and global economies. The movement of people is primarily related to industrial and business activity, and the travel sector is a vital indicator of the health of an economy.

The travel industry has been the worst hit by Covid, suffering huge revenue and job losses over the past one year.

Developed nations like France and Germany, even in the early days of Covid, have provided massive financial support to their national airlines. India, too, needs to prop up its domestic airlines as, apart from revenue loss, their debt burden is ballooning.

Navi Mumbai

This is with reference to ‘Resurgence of pandemic speculative for now: govt’ (June 28). There have been myriad reports about the third wave and its possible impacts. The Supreme Court has rightly pointed out that any laxity in complying with Covid protocols will eventually lay the ground for a potential third wave.

Though the third wave might not be as fatal as the second, one cannot throw caution to the wind. Moreover, there is a pressing need to develop vaccines for children and ramping up vaccination, especially in rural areas where vaccine hesitancy has become commonplace.

Noida

Apropos ‘Start-ups raise $8 b in five months’ (June 28), it is heartening to know India has a large pool of young talent. Developed nations offer ample opportunities to the talented for setting up new ventures, the shining example of which is Silicon Valley.

India, too, needs to encourage entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas. They should get the capital and support required.

The government should set up an independent body consisting of stalwarts from key sectors like information technology, health and education to encourage young entrepreneurs in various fields. If the government does not pay attention to this aspect, our young talent will go in search of greener pastures. To retain them, the government should encourage research and innovation.

Thane

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