Deposit insurance
With reference to ‘Govt mulls proposal to up deposit insurance limit’ (February 18), the deposit insurance limit was increased earlier in February 2020 to ₹5 lakh from ₹1 lakh, though there were persistent demands to raise the same to at least ₹10 lakh. Since 2020, annual inflation has been oscillating in the range of 5.22-6.7 per cent, thus steeply pushing down the purchasing power of the rupee. There is pressing case for increasing the deposit insurance limit to at least ₹20 lakh from the present limit of ₹5 lakh. With scams/frauds coming to light in some bank or the other at regular intervals, the depositors risk losing their lifetime savings. The hard-earned money of people, many of them senior citizens who park their entire savings in banks expecting secured returns, needs to be protected better. Further, time has come to differentiate between public, private and cooperative banks regarding the deposit insurance premium collected by DICGC, depending on the risk profile of the category of banks.
Kosaraju Chandramouli
Hyderabad
Passing on repo rate cut
This refers to ‘Floating rate retail loans get cheaper post RBI rate cut’ (February 18). While the report reveals that major banks have begun to pass on the MPC recommended 25 basis point repo rate cut to customers, it was intriguing to observe that none of the private sector banks has effected the desired cuts in respect of home and other loans. In all fairness, the RBI should exhort them, too, to urgently fall in line.
Kumar Gupt
Panchkula, Haryana
Corporate governance
Apropos ‘Courtesy as cornerstone of good governance’ (February 18), it is indeed more than essential that all those candidates who did not make the cut should be informed officially. This must be made part of good corporate governance practice. The corporate world is a small place and one never knows when the services of these candidates will be required.
Bal Govind
Noida
Impact of new tax regime
With reference to ‘Reforms by stealth in personal income tax’ (February 18), how far the new tax regime would help increase the disposable income of taxpayers, stimulate the consumption levels of individuals and, consequently, the demand for products and service remains to be seen. The deductions permitted under Section 80C, with its long-term benefits, have all along been protecting individuals with forced savings, thus acting as a back-up to meet exigencies. It would be disastrous if the tax structure encourages too much spending and investing in risky assets, given the insufficient knowledge of individuals about stocks and mutual funds. The removal of deductions under Section 80G is also not a well-thought-out move.
Sitaram Popuri
Bengaluru
