Bullet hurdles
This refers to the report “Bullet train project hits hurdle again” (February 24). With various roadblocks looming, it may take years before the train becomes operational.
It is difficult to deny that the Modi government fell for the pricey train just for optics, underestimating the challenging terrain that lay ahead in its execution.
Since its foundation stone was laid in 2017, the project has moved so slowly that people appear to be losing interest while alternate modes of fast transport are gaining ground. It is expected that by the time curtains are up for the train, the project will have suffered significant cost overruns, virtually threatening its feasibility and viability.
Kamal Laddha
Bengaluru
FM radio rules
Apropos the news item ‘FM radio hangs on to ad revenue share of 2.3% in 2024 despite digital competition’ (February 24), in the digitalised world, FM radio has come to stay. Gone are the days when listeners were tuning on their favourite stations on AM frequency for better clarity. Many key radio stations have dropped the AM tag and migrated to FM which even now maintains their sound quality and listing of programmes.
There were die hard listeners of BBC, Radio Moscow, Radio Peking, Ceylon and Radio Singapore in Short waves on 49, 41,31, 25 and 19 mhz. With the onset of FM radio, both AM and SW have become a thing of the past. Many world level broadcasters such as BBC and Radio Moscoew have shut down their services citing huge drop in listeners and the cost of maintaining it. However, the present day commercial FMs have become a major cacophony. Commercial ads with blaring noise test the listeners’ eardrums. Most of the RJs have their own dialect which is not understandable to many.
RV Baskaran
Chennai
Trade tangle
This refers to ‘Trump tariffs set to charge up FTA…’ (February 24). At this juncture of Trump’s tariff strike on India, hampering the flow of trade between the two, the resumption of free trade talks with UK is welcome.
India enjoys a trade surplus with the UK. The European Union also is a potential bloc with feasible tariffs and India can tap this market through inking FTAs. Trump seems firm on his stand in imposing tariff on Indian exports and there is a need to search for new markets.
The proposed bilateral trade deals with UK and EU are good opportunities for India in balancing the trade loss if any with the US and also to reduce US dependence.
NR Nagarajan
Sivakasi