While it is better to put to good use foodgrains than letting them rot in government godowns, the free PDS for extended periods, is an acknowledgement of not only dipping per capita income but worryingly, little signs of job growth in a high inflation regime.

Clearly the government is attempting to insure itself against a long period of growth stasis, eyeing the 2024 general elections.

If the basic causes of deterioration in rural economy is left unaddressed, we may be left stranded in a dead end should vagaries of nature threaten grain produce down the line.

The problem with such seemingly pragmatic schemes is that real core issues then tend to go unaddressed.

R Narayanan

Navi Mumbai

Methane pledge

Apropos ‘Why India refused to sign the ‘Methane Pledge’ (December 27), India has rightly refused to sign the Global Methane Pledge initiated by US and EU to target India on reduction of methane emissions.

Recently, the government clarified in Parliament the reasons for not signing the Methane Pledge as the methane emissions from agricultural activities and livestock population are the two main sources of income for small and marginal farmers. India’s agricultural system The Indian and Western agricultural systems are totally different and cannot be compared.

The government is looking to adopt ICAR’s technologies to minimise the emission of methane in rice cultivation through effective usage of water from seedling to harvest.

RV Baskaran

Chennai

Savings dent

Apropos, credit card spends fall for first time in five months (December 27). Credit card spends will certainly be reduced due to limited capacity of savings left in the hands of consumers and also due to steep hikes in interest rates being charged by the card providers.

Added to these are the EMI related interests and further 18 per cent IGST impacting credit card consumers. Of course the contentions of banks that these limits are needed without a security are to some extent valid, but then charging heavy interests certainly are not fair.

The banks charge minimum interest rates on priority sector advances and some categories of card users as per their card usages and IT returns can be brought under this sector with reduced interest rates which should be decided by the RBI and the Centre. This will certainly boost demand for credit cards.

Katuru Durga Prasad Rao

Hyderabad

Shareholder democracy

One regularly receives e-mails regarding postal ballots to be held as per regulations of the Companies Act. These are long-winding narrations of various stipulations of MCA, SEBI, stock exchanges, in compliance of which the postal ballot is being held.

Further there are even more long-winding instructions for various classes of shareholders – those holding shares in Demat, in physical form, and so on.

But there is no mention of the resolutions being put to vote. For this information one has to visit websites of the company, the registrar and so on.

By now the shareholder has little interest left in even knowing what the resolutions are. The MCA and others must work to reform and simplify the communication. It must meet the objectives of shareholder democracy rather than just compliances by companies.

V Vijaykumar

Pune