Panic burst

The ban on firecracker sales in Delhi-NCR will be seen by environmentalists as a success for their crusade against pollution. However, if this decision had been taken much earlier it would have given manufacturers a sense of the demand for their products. Now, on the even of Diwali, they’ve been taken unawares, and have to dispose of the excess stock.

Uncontrolled pollution is a chronic phenomenon. With VVIPs moving about freely in vehicles throughout the year, there is no political will restrict vehicle movement. Banning crackers for a day or two is a panicky reaction. The Government should come out with better measures to curb pollution on a permanent basis.

V Subramanian

Chennai

Smarter governance

Your editorial, ‘On paper’ (October 10) rightly states that regulatory measures for corporate governance standards are well documented on paper but in reality they are flouted. Most of the legal provisions are perfunctorily ratified than practically enacted for their intended impact. The Satyam scandal would have not occurred had corporate governance norms been espoused. Even the Uday Kotak committee’s recommendation for sharing sensitive information with founders through an agreement is not desirable as that will affect the self-determining potential of professionals at the helm. This has the potential for ‘insider trading’.

Infusion of experts, proactive espousal of ethical modus operandi, avoidance of informal back-seat driving by promoters and adherence to law will have to be imbued in Indian corporate culture.

B Rajasekaran

Bengaluru

Tax on the mind

Sadly, our government just cannot think beyond revenue. One minds paying GST as rates are extraordinarily high. There should be a single rate of say not more than 14 per cent and necessities must be exempt.The rules are impractical; recent modifications to simplify them are not enough. There should be a statutory provision that once a commodity is taxed under GST, no other tax or cess will be levied on that commodity.

M Kumar

New Delhi

Toying with toys

The plight of the Etikoppaka toys cottage industry, near Visakhapatnam, needs special mention. These 100 per cent ecofriendly lacquer toys are fashioned out of Wrightia tinctoria , a tree which is neither useful to humans as firewood or animals as fodder and which grows quickly upon felling, without causing deforestation. Carved on small lathe machines into charming toys, the wood is coloured using only vegetable colours, lacquered with natural Bengal gum and polished with the sharp edges of mogra (Arabian Jasmine) leaves. However, artisans lament that forest officials restrict them from sourcing even such a sustainable material. This has affected their occupation that is already hit by competition from plastic toys.

CV Krishna Manoj

Hyderabad

Ban bitcoin

This refers to ‘Why bitcoin should not be allowed’ by Madan Sabnavis (October 10). No single institution controls the bitcoin network. This means a large bank can’t control people’s money. But it has another side also. Bitcoin isn’t based on gold; it’s based on mathematics. The European Banking Authority has warned that bitcoin users are not protected by refund rights or charge backs. In India, where many people do not understand how these currencies are based and operated, it is better to be cautious. The RBI must declare digital currency illegal.

S Kalyanasundaram

Email

Nobel win

Richard Thaler has been rightly honoured with the Nobel for economics this year. His observation that an individual’s limited knowledge or ignorance of a product, the consequences of social preferences and lack of self-control can affect people’s decisions as well as market outcomes is well made. In a capitalist society, cyclical features — boom, recession, recovery and depression — occur because of some erratic decisions.

S Ramakrishnasayee

Ranipet, Tamil Nadu

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