Smart grooming

The succession plan of Sundram Fasteners (‘Sundram Fasteners MD to retire; daughter Arathi to succeed him’, March 23) appears to have been well thought out. Other business entities in India need to take not only a leaf, but the branch itself out of this book so that Indian consumers get quality products. The company as well as group has proved that family-oriented management is second to none. Quality should never be a victim of quantity.

Bengaluru

This refers to ‘Electoral bonds: secretive and opaque’ by PDT Achary (March 23). While the concerns regarding keeping the names of donors secret are valid, if their names are in the public domain there is the possibility that the party in power may try to harass those who have donated to opposition parties. What is also critical is the fact that even donations less than ₹10,000 should be accepted only through electoral bonds. Cash should be completely done away with.

Noida, Uttar Pradesh

Buybacks improves the intrinsic value and market cap of companies. The proposed levy of tax on capital gains from buyback of securities is untenable. Companies make buyback offers out of the general reserves accumulated in compliance with section 68 of the Companies Act pay taxes on the yearly profits before transferring to reserve account. Investor sentiment is already subdued due to the introduction of DDT on mutual funds.

The proposed measure may end up in litigation since in all the buyback offers completed, the shareholders have no prior intimation in the offer documents and prospectively such offers by companies are likely to be declined by shareholders. SEBI should bring in amendments speedily to save investor sentiment and the growth of the capital market.

Bengaluru

The Supreme Court's judgment on the misuse of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 strikes a fine balance between protecting individual liberty and fulfilling the purpose of the law. This calls for reforms in the way investigation is done. The process should be free from corruption and red tapism, and it should be modernised. E-crime investigation will reduce the need for direct contact between investigators and the persons being investigated. Only then will conviction rates increase.

Mahabubnagar, Telangana

Every law, including that against rape, dowry or child marriage, has the potential to be misused. The Atrocities Act is no exception. There must be checks and balances to prevent its abuse. The top court seems to argue that laws cannot be made to appease political or caste interests, which dominate electoral politics. But there is no denying the fact that there are growing instances of attacks on SCs and STs. Caste rivalries for political largesse is an ugly reality.

Hyderabad

A recent study conducted by Nandini Voice for the Deptrived of what people think about the behaviour of MPs and MLAs makes it very clear that people are anguished by what’s happening these days. They are shocked that the speaker of the LS, the chairman of the RS, and Assembly speakers allow ill-behaved MPs and MLAs to get away with no disciplinary action taken against them. Most feel that adjourning the session when MPs and MLAs misbehave is no solution.

One suggestion is that the salaries and perks of all MPs and MLAs be cut for the entire day if the session does not function smoothly for a minimum of one hour every day. If more than 15 hours are lost due to interruptions, then seven days’ salary and perks should be cut for every 15 hours of disruption. Others recommend that marshals be empowered to remove misbehaving members. The ball is clearly in the court of the presiding officers.

Chennai

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