Permanent solution Playing the name game
The editorial, “Consolidation fiasco” (August 17), about the worrying Q1 results of India’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India, is a true reflection of the outcome of consolidation effort manifested so far. But SBI and the banking industry are aware that ills in the system cannot disappear on their own.
Consolidation of entities would be an arithmetical sum of deficiencies. It is a long-drawn-out process to derive the synergy of consolidation and can never manifest in the near term. SBI has already begun the painful process of post-consolidation action. Redeployment of manpower, closure of multiple branches in the same area and merging of administrative units are some of the follow-up measures to infuse efficiency. But they cannot add to the gain so soon.
The problem of accumulated toxic loans remains unresolved. A tumour of such toxicity has to be surgically removed for a permanent solution, else one would have to live with it. The jump in non-performing assets (NPA) is a foregone conclusion; the problem can’t be addressed simply by bringing banks together. Either the government should infuse adequate funds to absorb the haircut or hive off the portfolio into a separate entity. Consolidation of banks can be a solution to enhance operational efficiency in the long run, not a panacea to ward off NPA stock. Considering consolidation as a strategy is not meant to wipe ills off the bad loan pile. It is not a fiasco per se. It can only serve the purpose for which it is meant. It is not possible to expect solutions that do not exist in the prescription.
K Srinivasa Rao Noida funding through opaque modes. The need of the hour is transparency and probity in funding to political parties.
The fight against corruption cannot continue unless the process of electoral funding is clean and trustworthy. The arguments raised by the government have rightly been refuted by the author. The roots of corruption lie in the use of ill-gotten money in nurturing political parties, who then offer doles and favours to their donors when in power.
The reduction of limit for cash contribution from ~20,000 to ~2000 is a halfhearted measure. All contributions to political parties must be from legitimate sources, duly transferred via bank instruments and made public with the names and addresses of donors. This should be ensured by enacting a suitable law.
A major electoral reform would be to bring political parties within the ambit of the Right to Information Act. If the government wants to win the battle against graft, the efforts should begin from its doorstep.
M K Bhandari Mumbai While setting up a chain of canteens across Bengaluru to provide food at affordable prices to marginalised sections of society is laudable, naming it after former prime minister Indira Gandhi is objectionable.
The scheme is being funded by the Congress government in Karnataka with taxpayers’ money, not contributions by the party or its workers. Naming such schemes after living or dead political leaders glorifies them and confers undue advantage on the party in power. This is the antithesis of democratic principles.
There are already several central government projects and schemes named after members of the Nehru-Indira Gandhi family. An effort to rename the railway station of Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) icon Deendayal Upadhyaya is at an advanced stage. Similar moves to name some proposed centrally funded universities in the BJP-ruled Assam has been objected to by ally Asom Gana Parishad. There is a need to spell out a national policy on this issue. Else, the Supreme Court should be approached for stopping such undemocratic practices.
S K Choudhury Bengaluru