Letters to the Editor
This refers to your cover story on start-ups (The New Cool, July 31). The Coolest Start-ups package has revealed that the non-metro consumers, SaaS, fintech, healthtech, and edtech sectors will be most in demand in 2016. The phenomenal growth of start-ups - by 270 per cent over the past six years - will definitely generate more employment in the years to come. It is quite interesting to see even the high net worth individuals entering the arena with big investments lined up. The five-year-old startups (like Hike Messenger, OYO Rooms and Urban Ladder), and three-year-old start-ups (like Tracxn, CleverTap, Droom, and CloudCherry) have won numerous accolades for their excellent performance, even during India's economic slowdown. - Biswaranjan Mishra, Gurgaon
Boosting Job Prospects
This refers to your feature on retail (Shop Till You Drop, July 31). The Centre has drafted a new model law that allows movie halls, restaurants, malls, and shops to operate round the clock, which will boost employment generation. To achieve the goal of a healthy India and generating more employment, there should be strict rules for the number of hours a person can work in a day, say no more than six-eight hours. Also, the employers should be penalised for violating these rules, and licences to run their commercial establishment should be cancelled. - Mahesh Kapasi, New Delhi
Rajan's Strategies
This refers to your article on Raghuram Rajan (The Unfinished Agenda, July 17). He excelled as the Reserve Bank of India Governor. Indeed, Rajan has become a household name in India. He vigorously pursued reforms at the central bank. Several steps taken by him have made the Indian economy healthier and stronger. His timely interventions have insulated India from the economic slowdown in the rest of the globe. It was his initiatives that revealed the skeletons in the cupboards of public sector banks in the form of non-performing assets (NPAs). Banks are now working at cleaning up their balance sheets after prodding by the RBI. His detractors have targeted Rajan without any constructive suggestions. It's difficult to find fault with most of Rajan's policies. Most of his critics are desperate to sully his image. No doubt, India has a track record of humiliating qualified and competent professionals. This was obvious in the way we treated Sam Pitroda earlier, and Rajan now, to cite a few examples. Rajan deserves encomiums for his stupendous service to India, and his truncated tenure will leave the government with the tough task of finding somebody who can fill his big shoes. - B. Rajasekaran, Bangalore
Impact of Delayed Payments
This refers to your feature on financial stress due to delayed payments (Payment Blues, July 17). It shows a realistic situation in dealing with the government. A staggering Rs 80,000 crore is retained with the government, without any liability of interest costs to the exchequer. Infrastructure industries and services companies bear the brunt, but government should take steps to improve this sorry state of affairs. It's also important to ensure that the government does not lose its credibility, and economic activity in the country does not take a hit. - Pattapurathi Pattapu, through e-mail
The Shadow of Brexit
This refers to your article on Britain's exit from European Union (Minimal Impact, July 17). It's a nice piece and takes a look at the big picture. Educated people don't want to leave the EU; older and poor people opt to leave; and the richer class wishes to remain with the EU. Now it is a fact that no country can progress economically in isolation. Whether the British would lose or benefit after leaving the EU is another matter. We will get to know soon. - M. Kumar, New Delhi
