Farm sector woes

This has reference to ‘What’s keeping the farm sector grounded’ (December 4). The stress in agricultural credit largely remains undisguised in the banking sector. As per the RBI report on sectoral deployment of bank credit for October 2018, the loan outstanding to agriculture and allied activities is ₹10,59,700 crore. At any point of time, more than 60 per cent of the loans to this sector is in the form of short term crop loans, which means the outstanding under this head is in excess of ₹6-lakh crore. As against this, the total crop loans covered under PMFBY for both kharif and rabi seasons put together in 2017 was ₹2.02-lakh crore. The operational guidelines of PMFBY stipulate that all loaner farmers, whose limits are sanctioned/renewed in time, shall be compulsorily covered under the scheme. The gap between the short term crop loans outstanding in the books of the banks and those covered under PFMBY is nearly ₹4-lakh crore. Does this mean that the amount not covered were not renewed and represent the stressed/restructured portion of agricultural credit? If this is true, one can understand the demands of farmers and the poll promises of various parties for loan waivers.

Coimbatore

To the cheer of many, the rising international standing of India and its present leadership’s assertiveness in upholding the country’s strategic autonomy came to the fore in the recently concluded G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. Developments such as trilateral engagement between India, the US and Japan had been elevated to the highest political level for the first time. Prime Minister Modi also had a second trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the summit. These cannot be dismissed as normal interactions on the sidelines of multilateral summits. Critics have warned of drawing too close to the US while distancing from old friends like Russia. But at Modi's trilateral with Russian and Chinese Presidents it was made clear that country does not have to choose between one camp or the other. Continuous engagement with the world to bring substantive economic and military gains to the country without making any compromise on our strategic autonomy should remain the key component of our foreign policy.

Sholavandan, TN

Apropos ‘ATF price drop: Will airlines offer cheap air tickets?’ (December 3), it goes without saying that state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) reducing the price of aviation turbine fuel by 10.90 per cent in New Delhi must have come as a welcome relief for the nation’s aviation industry. However, it may be naive to expect any fare reduction for air passengers at least in the near future. While the earlier high fuel prices and rupee depreciation might have affected airlines during the past few months, the current situation — where there has been a constant decline in global fuel prices apart from strengthening of the rupee — calls for a reasonable cut in the air fares at least on the domestic front.

New Delhi

The Environment Ministry has given a statement that it is waiting for “appropriate” cloud density and clearance from the IMD to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding in Delhi. Though experts argue that the process is not a long-term solution to the air pollution problem, it is a good step and will definitely benefit the citizens.

Mumbai

Despite recent correction in crude prices, it is important to remove entry barriers, reduce dependence on OPEC and develop alternative fuels to increase the long-term competitiveness in the oil marketing sector. Amid a relatively weaker currency and rigid tax structure, defensive measures such as cutting imports are not sufficient to control the retail cost of fuel. To serve public interest, oligopolistic/monopolistic fuel pricing ought to end.

New Delhi

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