Letters to the editor dated July 13, 2021

This refers to ‘How India can promote job creation’ (July 13). While the Indian economy is passing through a very stressful phase of rising job losses, unemployment, soaring prices of fuel and essential food articles, it is vital to make more investments, especially in those segments which can generate a lot of jobs.

Attracting domestic and foreign investors by extending incentives and creating a conducive business environment are vital, and the policymakers and administrators must step forward to enforce more reforms in all those areas that are impacting investment.

The optimum use of unutilised and underutilised natural resources will help create more jobs in the agriculture, manufacturing and trading sectors. Labour intensive economic activities should be given more priority at this juncture. As the Indian economy is an investment-driven one, the banking sector has a significant role to play and, hence, the government must make it more robust by drastically bringing down the bad assets in the system.

Changanacherry, Kerala

New, young and small enterprises can create more jobs to absorb the humongous number of people joining the labour force every year.

The low entrepreneurship rate can be redressed by improving the business climate through conducive labour and land reforms, lower taxes and infrastructure investments. Also, to attract foreign investments which directly create jobs, India needs to focus on building strong human capital that caters to the manufacturing and service sectors.

Sivakasi

Each nation requires an optimum size of population which provides the required labour and entrepreneurs to manage its natural and capital resources. The policy norms, based on income, health and education, must encourage more resourceful families. Development, modernity and even restrictions have led to the one-child or even no-child situations.

This kind of development has now backfired, creating population shortage in Russia, Germany, Japan and, now, even in China.

The total fertility rate must be juxtaposed against the state of development. India should match its population size with other national resources through optimisation.

Mumbai

Apropos ‘Control mass gatherings for a few months, IMA urges States’ (July 13), it shocking that people are not following Covid-appropriate behaviour, presuming that the infection rate has fallen drastically and there are abundant stocks of vaccines available in the country.

This is worrisome as different strains of the virus has emerged in Kerala, Maharastra and some north-eastern States.

It is to be noted that governments have lifted the lockdowns mainly to allow people to earn their livelihood, and not for holidaying or mass gatherings for spiritual and other purposes.

Time and again the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Medical Association have been appealing to the citizens to exercise caution.

Unfortunately it is still our habit to wake up only when the fire occurs.

Hyderabad

Despite the warnings from the IMA, eminent doctors and scientists that a third wave of Covid is imminent, State governments have relaxed restrictions especially on travel, tourism, pilgrimages and religious functions. This is dangerous, when only a small fraction of the population have taken both doses of the vaccine. Under these circumstances, mass gatherings would create potential super-spreaders.

It is painful to note that, at this crucial juncture, both the government and the people are becoming complacent. Considering India’s huge population, it is very difficult to control the movement of people. Though it is important to revive the economy it should not be at the cost of people's lives. Even now also there is time to review the relaxations and save lives.

Bheemavaram, AP

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