Exchange programme

Sir ? India-Pakistan bhai-bhaiism is taking on new dimensions every day. After the exchange of beatific smiles between foreign ministers and the bus, now it is time for the behenjis to cross over. Hence ?After bus, Lahore-Delhi college bond? (Feb 23). The remarkable thing is that the academic ties are being forged with women?s colleges only ? Kinnaird College, Lady Shri Ram (in the future). And even in mixed gender St Stephens, it is only the women who can cross the borders for the stipulated three-week stay. Why? The apparent argument for choosing Kinnaird College is its august alumni in India which has had noted actors, senior bureaucrats and educationists in its list. Would such a parallel be impossible to find among the Indian men who have studied in Pakistan or vice versa? Or is it just that women are easier to handle and assumed to have less militant inclinations?

Yours faithfully,
M. Srivastava, Calcutta

Time to take stock

Sir ? Given that the Manmohan Singh government?s selling point has been ?reforms with a human face?, the budget on Monday is likely to come under greater scrutiny than it ordinarily is. The situation is already complicated by the left?s placing of a host of proposals, among which are demands to impose ad valorem tax on all foreign exchange outflows, to do away with corporate tax exemptions and cap defence expenditure and foreign direct investment in the banking sector. In order to avoid last year?s political upheaval, the rural sector should be kept in mind. The employment guarantee has to be properly funded, and there must be increased outlays for education, health and social services for the poor. There should be allocation of more funds for the backward districts under vikas yojanas. A boost for rural electrification will help the agro-industries, generate employment and improve lives. There should be free medical care for HIV/AIDS patients. Luxury taxation may be increased to raise more resources. And finally, it is time to get more tough with the non-performing assets.

Yours faithfully,
Sankar Lal Singh, Calcutta

Sir ? So far the signs for the 2005-06 Union budget are encouraging (?Before the unveiling?, Feb 23). The freedom for merger and acquisition assured to public sector banks will boost the banking sector. Despite vehement opposition from the left, the finance ministry has shown a lot of wisdom in trying to implement this measure. It will allow public sector banks to increase in size and thus gain from economies of scale, which consequently will mean cheaper products for the Indian consumer.

In this budget, the government is expected to bring in the long overdue special economic zone policy and increase FDI investment in sectors such as retail and banking. This will give a fillip to exports and with increased FDI in retail, a sector long haunted by protectionism, India might finally grow to be a retail giant. Together with the government?s commitment to implement value added tax, this will improve the fiscal scenario.

Yours faithfully,
A. Mukherjee, Earlsdon, UK

Sir ? Budget is always time to talk of fiscal deficit and fresh taxes. The government ought to think more constructively. There should actually be a reduction in taxes, which will encourage people to be more spontaneous in paying their taxes. It is the high rate of taxation that promotes evasion. Since there is more black money in this country than there is white, the finance minister should not repeat his 1997 trick of trying to make the voluntary disclosure of income work. The scheme did not solve the problem of tax evasion. The finance ministry should sit down with the judiciary so that fraud cases are disposed of earlier and the corrupt brought to task.

Yours faithfully,
B.S. Ganesh, Bangalore

Sir ? The finance minister has to do something magical to see that the gross domestic product growth rate goes up to 7-8 per cent. But given the circumstances, P. Chidambaram should reduce his ambitious targets. Although business confidence in India is at an all-time high, the bottomline is that India is far away from an actual economic recovery. We definitely need more hard decisions.

Yours faithfully,
Siddhartha Raj Guha, Jabalpur

Sir ? The finance minister gave a pep-talk to Indian companies at a recent Ficci meet in New Delhi. He asked them to become globally competitive, emulating the Chinese model. There is no denying the fact that to survive in the globalized world today, a country cannot but be skilled and competent. But does the solution lie in the Chinese model? For Chidambaram, there are no doubts on this score. He has made a clean breast of his intentions when he asked companies to collect cheap labour and cheap raw materials from outside and even borrow finance capital at low interest, maybe even outsource production. This policy is bound to find reflection in the budget. But if the Chinese model is followed, won?t it be akin to driving a square peg into a hole?

Yours faithfully,
Hemanta Kumar Roy, Calcutta