Apropos the well-timed editorial "Transmission loss" (September 24), an unusual and prolonged beating-about the-bush is happening in the media over the much-anticipated rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Raghuram Rajan, due later this month. So many 'informed' views and counter-views are doing the rounds these days. Even Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has jumped into the fray by exhorting Rajan to apply his common sense and go in for a rate cut.
Why is Rajan, the person best-placed to decide this crucial matter, being repeatedly coaxed into taking a decision? He is an eminent economist, not a novice oblivious to his responsibilities. We should let him do his job and not bother him with unsolicited prescriptions of dos and don'ts from self-appointed economists and supposed monetary policymakers. Notwithstanding the favourable economic situation at present, it would be naive to go in for any move based purely on sentiment.
The RBI governor should not wilt under pressure and whatever he decides on September 29, should invariably be in the interest of the country. He must come up with a well-reasoned post-policy explanatory paper for the information and comprehension of the various segments concerned.
However, as the editorial suggests, the RBI could reconsider the revised periodicity of holding monetary policy meetings. But with regard to having 'protected' interest rates for tax-saving schemes such as Provident Fund and for small savings to be market-determined, the proposal might be too risky to earn the consent of most retail investors.
Kumar Gupt, Panchkula
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