Economic recovery

Refer to ‘Green shoots’; high crude prices are taking a toll on Indian economy, even though all other aspects are on the right track. Massive infrastructure expansion is going on. New expressways, airports, seaports, railway freight corridors are being built to solve India’s logistics problems. Unemployment is going down but slowly. There is a need to create more jobs to achieve 8-9 per cent growth rate. India has the capability to come back stronger. Every country is dealing with inflation, which is one of the major concerns of developing countries.

Tithi Trivedi, Ujjain

Hoping against hope

Refer to ‘FM Nirmala Sitharaman says Budget to address growth, inflation concerns’; it seems unbelievable that faced with the challenges of slowing growth rate and high inflation, Nirmala has pronounced that the Budget would be ‘very carefully structured’ to help the economy sustain growth momentum and rein in prices, even as she has identified high energy prices among the biggest problems facing the economy. All this comes amid the fact that almost all institutional bodies (including the IMF and RBI), apart from various subject experts, have cut their projections for India’s GDP growth in the current FY 2022-23 based on RBI’s tighter monetary policy hugely denting demand and the economy facing headwinds from a global slowdown. Achieving the desired level of economic growth vis-a-vis reining in inflation remain inversely related and it may be a Herculean task to strike any worthy balance between the two.

Kumar Gupt, by mail

‘Planned’ menace

Refer to ‘Hate speech’; the frequency of hate speeches have been increasing. Religion is being used to spread hatred in society. Every religion preaches peace and goodwill but followers use it as a tool. Politically biased security agencies hardly take any action against the defaulters. People from a particular faith get caught under various sections of the IPC, even though others with serious charges remain protected through their political affiliations. Courts need to initiate suo motu cognisance to maintain peace among people of various religions. Hate speeches have sparked riots at many places, yet nothing concrete has been done by the government. The negligible conviction rate also encourages hate speeches. Religious fundamentalists must be punished to curb this ‘planned’ menace.

Wg Cdr Jasbir S Minhas (retd), Mohali

Binny as BCCI chief

Apropos of ‘Roger that, Binny set to take over from Ganguly’; it is a pleasure to learn that cricketer Roger Binny is set to take over as president of BCCI. A member of the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 World Cup, Binny played an important role by taking 18 wickets in the tournament. Hopefully, he will be responsive to the requirements and demands of the upcoming cricketers representing various teams in different formats of the game.

Krishan Kant Sood, Nangal

Substandard drugs

The WHO instructions to recall Indian cough syrup has brought our pharma export market under a scanner. Below par Indian manufacturers are targeting poor countries with lax regulatory norms. The death of several children in J&K in 2020 due to adulterated cough syrup manufactured by a Himachal Pradesh unit is also a case of gross negligence. Recent reports showing zero active ingredient in a high-end antibiotic from three Punjab and HP-based companies has opened the Pandora’s box of how profits are made at the cost of human lives. Drug rules in India are strict but very poorly implemented. The alliance between manufacturers and regulatory authorities is alarming. The manufacturer is under pressure to recover his investment and earn profit in the background of uncertain and fluctuating API rates, coupled with heavy expenses he has to meet at the FDA office to get the requisite licence. Hence, quality is compromised. Unless the government seriously monitors the functioning of institutes like DCGI and CDSCO, we are just waiting for another tragedy to take place. Besides preventive measures, strict action is required against those found guilty. Temporary cancellation of licence is not a solution.

YASH KHETARPAL, PANCHKULA

US marijuana policy

In a recent shift in the US policy on marijuana, around 6,500 people convicted of possessing the drug were pardoned. Apart from paving the way for them to be smoothly reintegrated into society, it looks into the possibility of separating marijuana from the legal category of dangerous semi-synthetic drugs. India too should decriminalise marijuana as it will help reduce the dependability of addicts on lethal drugs. Though in the past few years, some states have regularised cannabis cultivation or has removed bhang from the list of intoxicating drugs, a lot needs to be done.

Maitri Chahal, Chandigarh

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