Mega insurance

This is with reference to ‘Coming soon, Bima Vistaar, an all-in-one budget insurance plan’ (September 26). It is certainly a welcome and a bold decision by the Centre involving the IRDAI in formulating an common insurance plan covering life and non-life insurance.

Insurance is still focussed more on the urban sector. The IRDAI has to put all the guidelines on its website as regards admissibility, duration of the policy and the likely claim admission etc in a more transparent manner.

SHGs working in the rural areas must be roped into push this insurance plan.

The women should be made to understand the importance of insurance by taking the help of the local bankers who are active in rural areas. It is definitely ‘ better late than never ‘ for the welfare of poor sections of society.

Katuru Durga Prasad Rao

Hyderabad

Veering off growth path

It is not surprising that the household, and not corporate, sector is proving to be the drag on the investment rate. We enjoy a demographic dividend, unlike Japan today or China later, when consumption overtakes the capacity to save.

The government has has been misled in reducing small savings rates to depress lending regime for big industry that is forever looking to reduce its cost of capital. It had shown a similar zeal in 2004, to line up rates of savings to the yields of government securities. The common man was hurt, which perhaps was one major factor in the then ruling party losing power.

This diversion of funds away from savings have largely gone to PSU banks, which are unable to push lending, saddled as they were once with ₹13-lakh crore in NPAs. The savings of India’s corporate and government sectors are inadequate to meet the country’s investment needs.

In some years household savings had made up as much as 67 per cent of total savings, to then usher in good growth in its wake. In neglecting savings we run into a twin-deficit — fiscal and current account.

R Narayanan

Navi Mumbai

OPS’ fiscal burden

It refers to ‘Going back to old pension system is a bad idea’. The RBI has warned States against using old pension scheme for a reason. Because the Old Pension Scheme is not only bad economics but bad politics too. Because resource allocation moves from development that benefit poor to a small section of people who have already benefited from secured jobs.

It is sad that Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh have gone back to OPS which is financially draining and fiscally ruinous for the State governments. Just for short-term political gains from the small section of the voters these states are doing injustice to thousands of other poor citizens.

Bal Govind

Noida

Treating water

Apropos ‘Water gets the treatment’ (September 26), monsoon vagaries, and depleting ground water sources are leading to scarcity of water for domestic purposes.

Hence recycling of waste water through Sewage Treatment Plants gets priority. But the cost of establishing new models of such treatment plants is high. Start-ups can step in to set up treatment plants.

This cooperative effort may bring long-term benefits and may ensure number of STPs without glitches.

NR Nagarajan

Sivakasi

comment COMMENT NOW