Beaten tracks

Populism pays

• I think Laloo Prasad Yadav’s railway budget was near perfect. He has proved that you don’t have to be an economist to produce a sound budget. What is required is genuine concern for the masses and a rustic common sense, which Laloo has in abundance.
His idea of kulhars, khadi, lassi, etc, in trains is also very novel and will generate rural employment. That’s the kind of grassroots development India needs.

— R.D. Singh Ambala

Acts of deficit

• The editorial ‘The FM’s real test’ (IE, July 3) makes interesting reading. True, the FRBMA (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act) passed by Parliament on May 7, 2003, is a landmark legislation requiring the government to eliminate revenue deficit by March 31, 2008. However, is it possible? The subsidies doled out by the government are in the “touch-me-not” category and the Left, whose support is vital for the survival of the UPA government, will not agree to any major staff cut.
One need not be a pessimist to visualise that in the present scenario, no effective steps in this direction are possible and that the Act will be amended at an appropriate time to extend the deadline.

— R. Thiruvengadam Chennai

Percentage game

• The finance minister is expected to levy a cess of 2 per cent on all taxes and duties in the budget for primary education. The idea is to rob Peter and pay Paul. But he should not levy this cess on personal income tax payees and senior citizens who are already suffering because of low interest rates.

— T.S. Gopalakrishnan Chennai

No more exams

• The move of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to do away with examinations for Standards I and II, bringing in the grading system for assessing students where the ‘F’ (Fail) grade would be done away with and introducing new ways of giving homework to students is excellent. It is the absence of such innovative methodology in our education system which makes learning so doleful and impractical. The on-going system of conducting examinations makes many students mug up things only for the sake of passing — and then they tend to forget everything once the tests are over.
The CBSE’s new education pattern would not only make learning an interesting and exciting experience for students but it would also go a long way in preparing them for the future.

— V. Rajesh Mumbai