Future of the tiger

• We need to reflect upon the criteria for selecting forest officers (‘Where are the tiger’s guardians?, IE, Feb 21). The cur...

• We need to reflect upon the criteria for selecting forest officers (‘Where are the tiger’s guardians?, IE, Feb 21). The current examination is more tuned to weeding out the interested, committed and trained students. The exam system is archaic. It has three papers — one in general studies and two in chosen subject areas. The current scheme does not have a paper in Wildlife Science, though the MoEF-run Wildlife Institute of India has been producing Masters students in this subject for the last 17 years. The few who brave the entrance after cramming unfamiliar subjects like zoology and agriculture, have to face a three-year long training at the IGNFA for IFS probationers. Current issues rarely figure in the course work. Instead, students are trained to ride horses, build check dams, log forests and grow eucalyptus. Why would anyone interested in wildlife take up a job largely requires her/ him to plod through a mountain of paperwork to certify large dams? — Soumya Prasad Bangalore

Leave Nepal alone

• Apropos of the article, ‘The emperor’s has no clothes’ (IE, Feb 21), please stop meddling in internal affairs of a foreign country. You want democracy in Nepal? What about Pakistan? We are sissies who try to bully weaker nations.

— P.V. Kulkarni Nashik

• Let the Nepalese take care of their own country. You are not the only power in that region. We have a most trusted friend in the north. If you do not stop interfering in our domestic affairs, I hope the king will seek the help of our trusted friends in China to bring prosperity in our beloved country. Lastly, I would like to suggest you to be equally concerned about bringing democracy to a country called Bhutan, which I believe had expelled more than 150,000 of its own helpless citizens of Nepali origin. — Alex Stevens Dallas

Mumbai to Patna

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• I admire Shekhar Gupta but his assessment of Patna is totally flawed (‘Mumbai Shanghaied to Patna’, IE, Feb 19). Mushrooming of apartments complexes in Patna and shopping complexes in Patna don’t indicate that people are fleeing it. Although it has law and order problem it’s the best city to live in Bihar and probably this explains the growth. I have stayed in Mumbai for two years and would prefer to stay in Patna any time!

— Ratan On e-mail

• What wrong have Mumbaikars done to deserve this? We contribute 40 per cent of India’s revenue. What do we get in return? A wretched lifestyle! Traffic jams. Potholes, hawkers and slums. There are no pavements to walk on because they are infested by hawkers and slums. We travel like sardines in local trains. The recent decision from Delhi to go slow on slum demolitions makes one’s blood boil. How can Delhi stop Mumbai from progressing?

— Sujeet Ramanna Mumbai

• India rues over Bihar and there is reason to do so. Yet, it may be unreal to expect rapid transformations in that state, Laloo or no Laloo. Robert Barro of Harvard University refers to the “iron law of convergence” that stipulates that the gap in real per capita incomes between the wealthiest and poorest regions in a democratic country is likely to converge only over the very long haul. As he puts it, the gap gets reduced at the rate of about 2 percent per year on average, giving a “half life” (ie, half the initial gap in per capita incomes) of 35 years. This has been seen in the case of economic performance of the four regions in the US between 1880 and 1990.

— J.S. Iyer Boston

H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear?

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The White House's decision to impose a $100,000 entry fee on H-1B visa holders has sparked worry among Indian tech workers and students. While uncertainties remain about its implementation and exemptions, major tech companies have cautioned employees against traveling. The policy could lead to a shift towards other visa categories and potentially change the STEM immigration pipeline.

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