Wake-up call
With reference to “Centre now asks depts. to fast-track budgeted spend; stimulus can wait” (September 25) by Nivedita Mookerji, the story highlights crucial negligence by several ministries and departments, and it should help in jolting them out of their reverie. Isn’t it sad that, in the face of very limited financial resources for literally unlimited needs for capacity building, some departments — especially “railways, roads and health” as mentioned — are ambivalent about “spending even what is available”? Their somnolence is nothing short of “criminal neglect”. They are sitting on precious approved budgets, when there is a crying need for hundreds of projects under their charge that are crucial for the country. Lack of progress on them affects the efficiency of national assets and safety of our people, yet they fail to discharge their assigned duties.
The Centre has done well to ask them to fast-track all such projects. Sitting on their haunches and waiting for the “stimulus” just doesn’t make sense. GDP growth is frighteningly low, and the government has its own limitations in coming out with the expected “stimulus”. At a time lack of jobs is a very serious concern, departments sitting on even the “budgeted spend” should come as a wake-up call.
Krishan Kalra Gurugram RBI governor, who heads this MPC.
The present incumbent, Urjit Patel ( pictured), may not be filling the shoes of his predecessor Raghuram Rajan, who went by his own perception of the prevailing economic scenario vis-à-vis the most likely situation that may be emerging on inflation. It’s a different matter that Rajan had to pay a very heavy price for his stubbornness. So, it may be naive to expect the same “attitude” from Patel who may announce the rate cut (as wished by the government) at the ensuing MPC meet next month. And all this may happen despite worrisome inflationary tendencies already setting in at both the wholesale and retail levels (courtesy the goods and services tax and the state-managed fuel price hike) which could always tinker with the RBI’s stated objectives of inflation targeting. The moot question remains: Who is the real boss?
Vinayak G Bengaluru and ~1,000, comprising 86 per cent of the total currency in circulation on November 8, 2016, by PM Narendra Modi was outrageous, and not courageous as claimed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her address to the United Nations General Assembly. Probably, Swaraj and her fellow party leaders are oblivious to the sufferings of the public waiting for hours in queue for the exchange of notes including the untimely deaths of about a 100 people.
They also seem to be unconcerned with the facts and figures which are in public domain. Ninety-nine per cent of the scrapped notes have safely returned to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vaults. The cost of printing new notes of ~500 and ~2,000 and the interest paid to banks by the RBI towards reverse repo have ultimately resulted in the central bank transferring ~30,659 crore to the government for the year ended June 30, 2017. This is less than half of the ~65,896 crore transferred for the year ended June 30, 2016. The GDP growth has also suffered by one to two percent during the last three quarters. Swaraj or Arun Jaitley's proud assertion that the demonetisation of notes was the right and bold step to unearth black money does not hold water. Everyone must gracefully accept the fact that the demonetisation of notes is not a solution to check corruption and black money.
Ramanath Nakhate Mumbai