I fully concur with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s views on a reduction of the scope of subsidies currently being provided to the well-off (“ >Subsidies will leave next generation in debt ,” Nov.24). The government can make a beginning by withdrawing the LPG subsidy, the next step being a review of the system of providing a subsidy on foodgrains being supplied through fair price shops. The categorisation of BPL and APL is fraught with flaws. People take very little from these shops. What happens is that what is unsold finds its way into the market and sold in the form of grain or powder at an inflated price. Corrective measures are inevitable for the good of the country.
Vijaya Krishna Pillai G.,
Alappuzha
Keeping the vote bank in mind, Congress governments have ruined the economy by giving subsidies to the well-off and by presenting deficit budgets every year. I am glad that the Modi government is contemplating doing away with such subsidies. The well-to-do must voluntarily forgo subsidies and help in the exercise of nation-building.
Basavaraj Modi,
Kalaburagi, Karnataka
The Minister’s averment that subsidies will leave the next generation in debt flies in the face of tax-cuts and rebates to the tune of lakhs of crores being doled out to the corporate sector. Subsidies form an essential component of any welfare state, and India, as a developing country, is no exception. It is clear from his remarks that the government is trying to press the panic button instead of trying to plug the loopholes in the targeting and distribution of subsidies. While it is open to the government to have a thorough check on the manner in which subsidies in the agriculture, education and agriculture sectors are being used by banks, a blanket curb on subsidies will push the poorer sections of society deeper into the abyss.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan,
Tiruchi
