Flagging the deadly impact of air and water pollution that annually claims at least nine million lives globally, a new UN report calls for urgent action to save humanity from the disastrous consequences of environmental degradation. It is rather unfortunate that many many children and aged people in India suffer from diseases caused by pollution. The government must take urgent steps to address the problem.

Mumbai

Days ago, the Attorney General made a hurried statement in the Supreme Court that what had been placed before them on the Rafale deal were materials ‘stolen’ from the Defence Ministry. It was an unexpected twist to the complex aircraft story. Even more astounding was the insistence that the apex court dismiss the review petition without perusing those records. Hours later, outside the court, he changed the contours of the statement on theft. And now, in the latest affidavit, the government is back on its original version of theft.

It is clear the details in the first confidential affidavit on the aircraft contract had factual inaccuracies and misstatements. It would be difficult for the court to dismiss the review petitions terming the misstatements as innocent typographical errors. Understandably, the ruling dispensation is worried the Supreme Court could order an investigation into the opaque Rafale contract.

Kozhikode

With reference to the report on BSNL not paying February salary to its employees, one will remember the apathy of its employees towards customers. When it was a monopoly, it took its customers for granted, and paid no heed to the emerging challenges. With better planning things would have been different for BSNL, especially after it began facing stiff competition from private players.

The BSNL case is an indicator of thing to come for other public sector units and public sector banks, as well. As we all know, many of our PSBs and PSUs are running in huge losses. Firms that fail to plan for future adversities will find the going tough.

Karikkattoor, Kerala

This refers to the editorial ‘Warning signal’ (March 14). In any mode of transportation — be it land, sea or sky — top-most priority must be on safety of the people/things being transported.

The crash of Ethiopia’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, in which157 passengers were killed, prompted some countries to suspend or halt the operations of the MAX 8 aircraft.

With two of its aircraft having crashed in the last five months, Boeing must thoroughly investigate the reasons for the accidents by way of FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) and rectify the faults, if any, on its part.

There are some country-specific issues as noted in the editorial that need to be addressed for smooth and safe flying. A nation can avert most of the untoward happenings if more investments are made for improving civil aviation infrastructure and strengthening safety capabilities. All the stakeholders in the airline industry should work towards the all-round safety of passengers.

Cuddalore, TN

This refers to ‘Premji commits another 34% Wipro stake worth $7.5 b to philanthropy’ (March 14). Azim Premji now ranks among the top five philanthropists globally. He now joins Bill Gates and Warren Buffet as the world’s most generous donors.

According to the Indian Philanthropy Report 2019, the number of ultra-rich households (those with a net worth of over $50 million), has grown by 12 per cent since 2014 but the number of contributors of ₹10 crore or more has come down from 50 in 2014 to 34 in FY18. Also, more donations have come from individuals than the organisations. Viewed in this light, the example set by Premji is worthy of acclaim and is a message to those companies which are reluctant to meet the statutory obligation of CSR expenditure.

Pune