This refers to “A long view of the note ban” by Venky Vembu (March 1). According to a report released by the Financial Action Task Force in 2013, the Indian rupee was the ninth most counterfeited currency in terms of value and ranked third in terms of the number of counterfeit notes detected around the world.
Attributing the insulation of India from sub-mortgage crisis to the prevalence of black money is taking a very narrow view. It is too early to assess the positive impact of demonetisation on the economy, and measuring the impact solely in terms of money returned to banks is not the right approach. It appears that more than ₹30,000 crore flowed into accounts opened under the PMJDY post demonetisation. This proves that these accounts were misused to channelise black money. Overall it seems that demonetisation and going digital may prove effective in resurrecting the economy in the long run.
Srinivasan Velamur
Chennai
Beyond GDP’s scope
In the context of the lay-offs resorted to by the small sector to manage the cash shortage thanks to demonetisation, it is incomprehensible how the economy grew at over 7 per cent during the third quarter of this financial year. It makes us question the efficacy of GDP measuring the well-being of citizens.
The concept gives more importance to output and economic value rather than the efforts of individuals. For instance, the efforts of the family to take care of its children, elderly and sick members are not quantified unless the family commercially employs people to provide these services. Again, the concept and expansion of the services sector ensures that despite the indifferent growth of the manufacturing and farm sectors, GDP registers a growth which need not be true as the cost of services need not be its true value in the absence of a scientific measurement of the services rendered. This can result in a situation demand growth of the services sector fuelling inflation in the absence of relative growth in the manufacturing and farm sector. This is why India is unable to become a significant economic power in the world.
P Esakki Muthu
Chennai
The quota factor
How long are we going to fight elections on the basis of caste and religion? Successive governments are to be squarely blamed for playing caste politics to win elections without actually empowering the downtrodden and weaker sections of the society. If these governments had worked for the uplift of weaker sections by empowering them, there would not have been agitations for or against caste now.
We cannot do away with caste reservations by coercive methods or agitations, only by empowering the downtrodden. We have to create a society where there is no discrimination and this can be done by improving the lives economic status of people. The jat agitation in Haryana and the Patel agitation in Gujarat are politically motivated. Let our leaders and politicians speak development-based politics.
Veena Shenoy
Thane, Maharashtra
Quite confusing
The latest high-level public statement in the US regarding automation is the concern about impending job losses by way of thousands of truck and bus drivers being laid off once driverless vehicles are commercialised. Silicon Valley entrepreneur Martin Ford’s book disputing the argument that disruptive innovations in IT will create new job opportunities reinforces this perception.
In this context, it remains to be seen how Trump’s promise to prevent misuse of the H-IB visa and the Bill seeking to hike the minimum wage of an H-1B worker, will help retain domestic jobs in a country that has always championed innovation.
Given the fact that there is a strong domestic wave of AI-automation that is irreversibly gearing up to pull the carpet from under the feet of labour, is the Trump administration missing the woods for the trees? Curiously, is automation going to create an era of jobless economic growth across many sectors in the world?
Aravind Sridhar
Bengaluru