Letters to the editor dated September 6, 2021

With reference to the editorial ‘Securing labour’ (September 6), the recent launch of the e-Shram digital portal would be a boon for migrant labourers and workers in the unorganised sector in getting their wages, DBT, maternity, accident benefits, pension and provident fund, if any.

To make e-Shram robust and cover much of the unorganised workforce, the Labour Ministry must make it mandatory for all MSMEs, construction companies and other entities which employ at least five workers to register their workforce under e-Shram and these entities must be mandated to give monthly reports on their labour force, to be linked with filing of GST returns, etc.

Besides, e-Shram registration counters are made available at all major railway stations, airports and bus terminals to enable them complete their registration.

Wide publicity about the importance of e-Shram registration will help make the initiative a big success.

Chennai

Casual/unorganised labour forms the bulk of the country’s workforce. Unfortunately this section has often been neglected.

They are at the mercy of the vagaries of the market forces for gainful employment and their dependence on daily wages for sustenance makes them easy targets for exploitation. The absence of any kind of safety net also ensures that they have nothing to fall back on during hard times.

The e-Shram portal is a welcome move of the government to provide some kind of relief to the workers of the unorganised sector.

Mumbai

This has reference to ‘MP High Court stays RBI notification on UCBs’ (September 6). The issue does not pertain to the relevance of the new corporate governance guidelines but the authority of the RBI to issue the guidelines In respect of commercial banks, the RBI circular has a caveat that these guidelines would apply to the extent the stipulations are not inconsistent with the provisions of specific statutes applicable to these banks.

By the same logic, the UCBs question the regulatory powers of the RBI in their case. This leaves three types of banks — SBI and PSBs, UCBs and other commercial banks — with separate corporate governance rules for each, which is illogical. There is need for a clear distinction between regulations and ownership rules. The RBI, being the regulator of banks, should have independent and superior regulatory powers over all banks regardless of their constitution and ownership.

Mumbai

Today, many urban cooperative banks play an important role in providing service to lakhs of customers with low incomes and in the recent past they have widened financial inclusion. Unfortunately, not all UCBS are managed in a professional manner. Many of these banks are controlled by politicians and often they do not follow good business practices. As a result, many UCBs are in financial trouble, thus posing a threat to small depositors’ savings.

The RBI has had to intervene in the past to protect depositors and impose restrictions on UCBs that were in a financial mess. Hence, it will be unfortunate if the recent Supreme Court/High Court verdicts come in the way of efforts of the RBI to improve governance of UCBs.

Pune

Apropos ‘Modi & Shah: Political strategies, economic tactics’ (September 6), construction of the Ram Temple, abrogation of Article 370, CAA, etc., are all nothing but fulfilling the election manifesto. There is no doubt that Modi-Shah is a powerful political combo and the BJP is known to be ever ready for elections. But the West Bengal election results showed the party that playing the Modi and Hindutva cards will not suffice. On the economic front, the ruling government has done some good work but due to the pandemic, a lot more needs to be done to bring it back on track.

Noida

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