Loan waivers would surely settle farmers? debts (?Farm NPAs could get Budget relief?, Jan 9), but what about their sustenance? The government is weighing all options in order to come out with a concrete and sustainable solution. Here are some suggestions. One, increase access to the formal financial system and the micro-finance sector by strengthening and streamlining the rural credit delivery system. Second, reform the cooperative credit structure to ensure sustainability. Third, work out a formula to restructure loans granted to farmers to be made repayable on a long-term basis, preferably carrying zero interest rates with a cut-off date decided for implementation. While doing so, a rehabilitation package can also be considered, with its size to be decided after undertaking case-by-case studies of the magnitude of the problems that persist. The documentation processes, again, must be made simple. Straightforward acknowledgement of debt by farmers is good enough.
?Srinivasan Umashankar, Nagpur
Tactical ploy
India has again occupied the moral high ground, calling for removal of subsidies by the West (?Trade-distorting farm sops…?, Jan 18). This tactical ploy fools nobody when our own subsidies remain unsustainably high. It?s the LDCs that need truly open market access under the Doha Round, not rapidly growing economies like India. And also, how could India hope to get sops from the West without giving something in return in terms of Nama?
?J Anand Menon, Kochi