आर्थिक

Central government should merge all public-sector companies for General Insurance into one unified company to reduce unnecessary overheads. If one single public-sector Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) provides life-insurance cover under so many plans effectively, then one General Insurance Corporation of India can also be formed by merging all public-sector Insurance-companies engaged in General Insurance. Such unified company will be able to compete more effectively with private-sector companies engaged in General Insurance in the manner that no private Insurance-company is presently able to compete with public-sector Life Insurance Corporation of India.   MADHU AGRAWAL

 Private locker-vaults are necessary evil but should be regulated It refers to Income Tax officers continuing to wait for those having taken on rent lockers operated by a private firm in Khari Baoli area of Old Delhi which is the prominent business hub for wholesale trade of many commodities. Only one-third out of total about 150 lockers are till date opened because lack of regulatory norms for taking these privately-operated lockers on hire with rent running into some lakhs of rupees annually. Already about rupees 35 crores of currency has been detected from the opened lockers. Earlier also similar search in South Extension area of New Delhi resulted in seizure of heavy unaccounted cash. Such privately operated lockers working till late evening are necessary evil because India does ...

There is huge unclaimed money lying deposited in post-offices with even many account-holders and depositors died without having informed their legal heirs. There are always chances of frauds (like in banks) that some mischievous persons in connivance with certain postal-employees may try to grab such unknown deposits. Department of Posts should send letters by registered post in name of such account-holders and depositors not having operated their accounts and claimed for maturity-amounts of deposits in last say three years giving them a reasonable period of say three months to either renew their accounts or deposits. Otherwise all such unclaimed money may be freezed in some fixed account, which may be allowed to be withdrawn only after careful verification. Details of all such accounts th...

Applications-form for opening new Public Provident Fund PPF account is Corporation Bank is wrongly designed with a provision of Joint Accounts. But PPF accounts are not opened in joint-names, thus confusing both the applicants and the bank-officials wasting man-hours in hit and trial to open PPF accounts. Ultimately the accounts were opened in individual names. Moreover while all other banks like State Bank of India have provision to provide pass-books for PPF accounts, issuing of pass-book could not be possible for a 20-digit PPF account-number while passbook-printer and software at the bank is designed to handle only 15-digit account-number. Corporation Bank headquarters should look into the problem by modifying the form and the software to print PPF passbook. Moreover there are useless ...

It refers to media-reports about LPG subsidy now to be credited only in bank-accounts having balance below rupees 3000 as a check towards subsidy not going to affording persons. But this is contradictory to government-step of encouraging people for savings made in bank-accounts. Any such decision will be like watering leaves rather than roots. Government-data reveals that even many Jan-Dhan accounts of poor people have sufficient deposits which may deprive them of LPG-subsidy in case the decision is implemented. Encouraging subsidy in itself a bad phenomenon and should be discouraged. Those desiring and entitled for LPG subsidies, should rather been required file an affidavit towards total family-income rather than expecting ineligible persons for surrendering LPG subsidy voluntarily. Suc...

Best is one-time toll-tax at time of purchase of new vehicles like system exists for one-time road-tax It refers to Union Ministry for Highways working on new toll-policy where toll-tax will have to be paid only for stretch of road used rather than for complete road-stretch between two toll-plazas. Any such new policy will require lot of investment on existing highways tolling system under Pay-As-You-Use plan, even though new highways like Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway around Delhi are equipped with new system. But best is to replace toll-system by charging one-time toll-tax on purchase of new vehicles like system exists for charging one-time road-tax on purchase of new vehicles. It may be recalled that all concerned including vehicle-users and transport-authorities welcomed ...