Stick to common sense
Ajay Shah in his article, “Who is afraid of algorithmic trading” (August 22) has rightly emphasised empirical evidence as the basis for decision-making. It, therefore, behooves him and his ilk to produce empirical evidence that algorithmic trading has furthered the prime purpose of capital market, namely, channelling savings into financial assets.
Not unlike the prognosis of Irving Fisher just before the great crash of US markets in 1929 that “stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau”, Shah, in his article, “A crisis? Or a mere recession” (March 19, 2008) judged the 2008 crisis as: “This may well be a recession, but it is not an emerging markets-style crisis.” What happened subsequently hardly needs mention.
The murky, if not sinister, role played by “neutral academics” in engineering the crisis of 2008 was exposed in the Academy Award-winning documentary, Inside Job. Sophistication for its own sake serves no purpose; on the contrary it is the handmaiden of deception. In formulating public policy, wisdom lies in discarding the shibboleth of “experts” and sticking to common sense.
S M Roy Kolkata in the 20 km walk has gone unnoticed. He finished 13th, but his timing was less than a minute more than the bronze medallist in that race.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi should first bring about changes in the administration of sports. He must seek an explanation from Sports Minister Vijay Goel regarding the aggressive and rude behaviour of his staff at the Olympics. Such misbehaviour shames the entire country.
This is the right time for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and state governments to select as many sportspersons as possible, bear their expenses and let them train without favour or pressure.
Bidyut K Chatterjee Faridabad alarming and cannot be brushed under the carpet, especially after the civil aviation policy underwent some changes. Safety standards have to be world class; there can be no relaxation in this aspect.
We are short of 1,000 air traffic controllers; these vacancies can’t be filled overnight. Lack of air traffic controllers will only make matters worse. The need of the hour is to fill the vacancies at the earliest without endangering the life of passengers.
As highlighted in your editorial that low salaries and poor working conditions are the two main reasons for people not opting for a career with the Airports Authority of India, this is something the civil aviation minister and the government needs to look into before filling the vacancies.
There is no point boasting that India is the fastest growing aviation market if it does not have even the basic infrastructure in place. The government needs to draw up a plan to make air travel safe and pleasant. Regular monitoring is key. The pay packet of air traffic controllers should be made as lucrative as a pilot’s. Bal Govind Noida