While your editorial (‘Privacy and protection’, August 4) rightly pushes for a robust security systems for data protection and privacy, it must be noted that India does not have any domestic digital security company of international scale and repute. This so-called anomaly pales in comparison to the recent political events in the US, which has championed the cause of the internet by advocating its free unrestricted use.
The US could not secure the data of a major national party’s presidential campaign, despite its data protection and privacy laws. Would those who argue that Aadhaar’s biometric authentication system violates privacy, similarly accuse organisations (that implement biometric authentication systems for corporate access) of violating the rights of employees?
The objection to Aadhaar scheme is only the tip of the iceberg, given the fact that personal data is also collected by banks to open a bank account, or websites when filing their tax returns , or even when applying for mobile phones. So, why is the objection directed at Aadhaar? Such debates are a diversion from the real concern of data security.
Aravind Sridhar
Bengaluru
The issue is in linking Aadhaar with every other ID, each for a specific utility. It is as imprudent as having one password for all transactions. Given the increasing sophistication of hackers and a borderless digital world, there would be little remedy or recompense to mass cyber assaults on a system that we choose to unwisely undermine by indiscriminate linkage.
R Narayanan
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Concise and clear
NS Vageesh is right about wanting the PM to keep his I-Day speech short ( “Keep it short and sweet’, From the Viewsroom, August 4). The occasion calls for a measured message, the very opposite of an election speech. The larger, more diverse and widespread the audience, the more difficult it becomes to hold its interest.
YG Chouksey
Pune
The speeches made on national days are invariably composed of pious, banal, elegant platitudes and sentiments, and make little impact on the nation’s psyche. Erudite leaders such as S Radhakrishnan, R Venkataraman, Narasimha Rao, KR Narayanan, AB Vajpayee, and Abdul Kalam always had interesting things to say. Modi’s speeches too always sound sincere and interesting. Speeches should be inspired by the likes of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, not the marathoner by VK Krishna Menon at the UN.
CV Krishna Manoj
Hyderabad
Making sense
‘End banks’ monopoly over retail savings’ by Aarati Krishnan (August 4) does not spell out where the remaining 33 per cent of the ₹14.9 trillion incremental financial assets added by Indian households in FY16 went. Were they not to NBFCs as well as unaccounted money-lenders? When one third of savings go to avenues which do not offer any kind of safety of deposits, should we be worrying about the ‘monopoly’ of banks? And, even if there is a monopoly, how come only 42 per cent goes to banks?
When one-sixth of the population does not have bank accounts, and even lacks the ability to write their own names in the mother tongue, should we tell them to trade in g-secs? We must speak only what can be understood.
PD Sankaranarayanan
Thiruvananthapuram
Good question
The article, ‘CAs have not covered themselves in glory, by R Narayanaswamy (August 1) could contribute significantly to improving the performance of CAs. The Government should set up the National Financial Reporting Authority, “demutualise” the profession and junk the plethora of useless and repetitive pro forma activities. It should be made a statutory obligation of SEBI and the RBI to more effectively monitor and enforce compliance with regulations. The Prime Minister’s question : “Who did you work for? Client or country?” is timely and merits honest introspection.
N Narasimhan
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