This refers to the editorial "The wrong prongs" (March 20). The intention of the government to unearth the black money accumulated abroad is laudable and deserves all administrative and legal support, but it cannot be treated as a lasting solution to curb the menace of black money. As rightly highlighted, the generation of black money in the domestic economy and its easy movement to international economies need to be mercilessly plugged with strict regulation, supervision and enforcement of existing laws of the country, with modifications and reforms. The sources of black money generation are innumerable - real estate transactions, massive corruption and bribes liberally practiced with the connivance of the enforcement authorities and laxity of governance standards prevalent in all institutions. All such transactions need to be forcefully curbed.
Ethics and values in economics, trade and commerce have been literally absent and this needs to be fixed through cultural changes starting right from the primary level of education to the final level of employment in all types of vocations. No doubt, the process is time-consuming but it is worth attempting in the long-term interest of the economy and the people.
T V Gopalakrishnan Bengaluru
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