Power sector woes

This refers to the article ‘A new dawn for the power sector?’ by Surya P Sethi (November 24). We pay the highest tariffs for power in the world. When Coal India is being allowed to operate at a return on equity of 34 per cent, how will the generating companies get coal at reasonable prices? Being a government-owned company, it should put people before profits to make coal available cheaper. The politicians should understand that commercial, home or agriculture users of electricity want reliable and stable power at affordable prices. No one wants free electricity. States should understand this basic truth and do whatever it takes to make UDAY a success.

CR Arun

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ISIS methods

The modus operandi adopted to lure South Asian recruits is shocking to say the least. The fact that Chinese, Pakistanis, Sudanese, Nigerians and even Indians constitute the front rank of the fighting force and are employed as foot soldiers and suicide bombers is appalling. The revelation that their passports are burnt as soon as they arrive at ISIS strongholds to prevent them from returning to their countries should only deter would-be recruits. One hopes that better sense prevails and these youngsters realise the folly of joining the ISIS and putting their lives on the line.

NJ Ravi Chander

Bengaluru

Drop him

I agree with the editorial, ‘Drop him’ (November 24). The time has come for politicians such as Assam governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya to stop dividing people on the lines of religion and caste. Hate speeches will not reap good results. Youngsters want employment opportunities and good governance. We have to change our views on secularism and concentrate on development and employment .If a small nation like Singapore can become so prosperous in a short span of time how can a huge nation like India, with its vast natural resources and youth power, lag in development?

Veena Shenoy

Thane, Maharashtra Assam’s acting governor Balakrishna Acharya is a constitutional authority. It ill behoves him to divide citizens on religious lines. The governor should be qualified to safeguard the Constitution and act as its custodian on behalf of the President. By virtue of not having done so, Acharya must go. Since Independence, there has been a demand to abolish this gubernatorial post, with strong arguments that it is a vestige of the colonial administration, “the beard of a goat” signifying no functionality. In the present case, since Acharya is not able to distance himself from the political moorings of his party, he is unsuitable for this position. Acharya will aggravate the divergence in that region.

B Rajasekharan

Bengaluru

A persistent problem

This is with reference to ‘Confused policy signals on capital goods’ by CP Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh (November 24). The capital goods sector continued to be weak for two reasons. The unorganised sector could not get any boost from government policies and hence quality is just good for domestic consumption.

Foreign investment has largely come for mergers and acquisitions only to tap the domestic market. The country is meeting its requirement from Asean countries or China which have acquired excellence in the production of capital goods. The government is neither incentivising the domestic technological development nor supporting small entrepreneurs for their credit and land needs. Hence, the problem has been persisting.

RK Arya

Faridabad, Haryana

Errata

In ‘Below the line’ (November 23), the snippet titled ‘Non-disclosure’ mistakenly suggested that Marico Ltd did not inform the stock exchanges of its acquiring an equity stake in Bellezimo Professionale Products Pvt Ltd. The error is regretted.

The report on IOC’s Gujarat Refinery solar power plant (November 24) mistakenly stated the capacity was 1,400 mW. It should have read 1,400 kW.

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