Opinion
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Letters to the Editor
The UTI mess
Sir, — The Unit Trust of India is a shambles today. The Tarapore Committee report has pointed out the mismanagement, misuse of authority and, by inference, non-commercial considerations in UTI dealings. The Government's proposed bailout of the UTI, — like some other recent bailouts of public sector banks — has dangerous implications.
One should address the root cause of the crisis. First, it is political interference in appointments to top posts. The recommending politicians not being philanthropists, consequent extra-commercial considerations lead to the emergence of non-performing assets and large-scale manipulations to hide facts. Several mandarins of the Union Finance Ministry are also not free from blame. Their itch for power and patronage, and backseat driving makes the situation worse.
Bailouts are no solution because they mean, in essence, the creation of public debt by the Government of India. This is a burden on posterity. This public debt is serviced by current revenues, mostly raised from indirect tax levies like excise on items of mass consumption. Eventually, the poor have to pay for all these manipulations.
In the end, politicians, bureaucrats, as also the involved persons, go scot-free after the usual high drama and vehement assertion of protection of the public interest.
M. R. Pai,
Mumbai
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