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Hindi in banks
Apropos ‘Going to the bank? Carry a shabdkosh’ (Sept 9).
Is it not a criminal waste of money to spend large sums to use
Hindi in nationalised banks?
Not only will enormous sums of money be expended in translating
internal circulars, inter-office memos, routine letters and
reminders into Hindi, but cultural programmes will also now
be organised on Sept 14 every year as part of ‘Hindi Day’ celebrations.
A lot of time and manpower will be utilised for these tasks
as a result of which commercial productivity will suffer. In
the post-VRS scenario in banks, where banks are yet to settle
down in deploying their work force to the required place, the
authorities should reconsider whether such activities ought
to be encouraged at all.
-- Brindragh, on e-mail
II
Most of us might feel truly modern by speaking English, but
the truth is that only a small percentage of Indians can speak
and understand English well. Hindi remains the language which
is spoken by the majority. Clearly then, no language in India
can hope to replace Hindi. But whenever any other language is
translated into Hindi, it must be ensured that the masses are
able to understand it easily. Therefore, difficult Hindi words
must be avoided or should be placed within brackets, alongwith
their simpler, easy to understand versions.
-- Mahesh Kapasi, on e-mail
Piecemeal policies
This week has seen two big events, McKinsey’s public policy
document and the PM’s nth brainstorming session with the industry.
It is good to hear that the term ‘implementation’ has entered
popular jargon. But while the consultancy firm may just be looking
for some publicity, why doesn’t the politician realise that,
if nothing happens, it will further erode his credibility.
The beauty of globalisation is that all must play by the same
rules, and the best team stands to win very big, as exemplified
by China. But our theories sound very nice, except they actually
send us to bed hungry. Any exercise to calculate the additional
burden imposed by our present system will serve no useful purpose
till our Stone Age compartmentalisation of small and not-so-small
scale stays intact. Manufacturing happens to be the biggest
job creator worldwide and no great wisdom is needed to understand
what is required for a competitive manufacturing base — laws
that make for a productive workforce, efficient infrastructure,
competitive cost of capital and a system that does not have
an extortionist motive.
How deep is the rot within the financial system which till very
recently lent at over 18 per cent per annum to the industry,
for which the bank paid the small investor as little as 6 per
cent? Even an ordinary branch manager knows what has gone wrong
and why. Why does the government still hesitate to monitor cooperative
banks effectively? Because the trustees are well connected politically.
As for a healthy capital market, the less said the better. An
entrepreneur needs a highly rigged bull market to raise capital.
Prior to almost every merger or buy back announcement there
is a spurt in share prices. The well-connected always seems
to know. Even with available technology, very few face punishment
and there seems to be no way to compensate the small investor.
Till budgeted funds are allocated efficiently, the system made
globally competitive, and capital can be accessed at competitive
rates, piecemeal efforts will yield piecemeal results.
-- K Yogi, on e-mail |
