The article “When symptoms are mistaken for disease” (Op-Ed, Aug.21) exposes the government’s false diagnosis and wrong prescriptions, a fatal combination that will only cause more damage. Instead of imposing heavy import duty on capital goods and unnecessary consumables like toys, fruits, vegetables, TVs, etc., the government’s singular agenda to cut gold purchases is like applying band-aid in response to cardiac arrest. Import of capital goods from China is not only widening the trade deficit with that country — with no reciprocal benefit — but also killing local manufacturers. As said in the article, there is a need to re-oil the manufacturing engine and get it back in top gear. The government should also consider a voluntary gold disclosure scheme along with sovereign guaranteed gold bonds. This will not only bring out “clean” gold but also increase India’s bargaining power in the world gold market besides bringing down the metal’s price.
S. Vaidhyasubramaniam,Thanjavur
Why is our government not turning to our people working abroad for help? Fixed deposits with a sovereign guarantee will do the trick. Four-eight per cent can be offered for one-five year deposits. The rupee will easily reach Rs.40 per dollar within a year.
This drop will take care of the interest component. Deposits should be accepted only from NRI, PIO and OCI status holders so that hot money does not come in. These rates for guaranteed investments do not exist anywhere in the world and money will flow in.
Ranjit Abraham,Chennai
On the manufacturing front, a number of projects with very heavy investment are facing bottlenecks in getting clearance, which has had a direct impact on our economy. We must observe the buoyant recovery of the economy in the U.S.
B. Gurumurthy,Madurai
