Road to inclusion
The massive response the government received from the public for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana shows the aspiration of the people to be a part of India?s journey to financial inclusion. It is sad that the previous dispensations at the Centre had failed to gauge the aspirations of crores of people. It seems that the programme will achieve its target even before the next Republic Day. We should not stop with merely opening an account; rather, we should carry on with the momentum by encouraging the new entrants to utilise the benefits of the banking system to their full advantage. The early successes of the Jan Dhan Yojana shows that the time has come to put the much-debated Direct Benefit Transfer scheme back on top gear. The linking of both these schemes will surely be a game-changer.
Kiran Jose
Palakkad
Tough tasks ahead
The BJP government is on the verge of celebrating its first 100 days. And it is also time to analyse where India is standing on the global stage. To be honest and frank, we have miles to go on the global ground. Simultaneously, it is also true that the country has the huge potential in terms of land, rivers and seas. Then what is holding back India from achieving milestones on all the major fronts? This is a big question now. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the government to seriously look into the corrupt system that has long been halting our country. Besides, the job creation needs the immediate attention of the government. Infusing more energy into the agricultural and IT sectors is important now. With strong strategies coupled with powerful course of action, we can proudly walk towards a roaring and self-reliant India soon.
P Senthil Saravana Durai
Mumbai
Will Jan Dhan scheme work?
On the instructions of the government of India, all public sector banks (PSBs) have started opening bank accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. But it is naive to presume that by merely opening bank accounts for the poor, we can eradicate poverty. The poor do not maintain bank accounts as they do not have money to put into these accounts. Besides, in most rural areas, the nearest bank branch/ATM is still quite far away for many. Money is an urgent need in most cases and if it not available as and when required because it is lying in the banks, then that is a hassle to deal with. It is also naive to presume that by lending money to all the needy, the poor will come above poverty line.
Sudhir Keshav Bhave
Mumbai
Who is tainted?
The Supreme Court has left the onus of inducting persons of impeccable character into Cabinet on the Prime Minister and the chief ministers. Every political party is reluctant to keep the tainted persons away for fear of weakening vote-bank. There is no political party which has not issued tickets to tainted persons for contesting the Lok Sabha, State Assembly and Council elections. If the tickets are not at all issued to tainted persons for contesting the elections, the PM and CM do not find it difficult to exclude the tainted persons from taking to the Cabinet. Only persons convicted in the court of law can be considered as tainted persons, because politically motivated charges are framed against the political adversaries and FIRs are filed. Not all those facing serious criminal charges are convicted in a court of law. Moreover, no PM or CM would ever accept that he/she has inducted the tainted persons. People are lucky at least if the PM or CM is not tainted person.
KV Seetharamaiah, Hassan